Out of the Blue
by quillqueen
Summary: [On HIATUS] In her seventh year, Cho, angsty and confused as ever, tries to find someone new. For some reason, things just fell into place. DracoChoTerence. RR please.
1. Ch 1: The Perfect Entrance

**Disclaimer:** Characters are not mine. No copyright infringement intended.

**A/N: **Ok, i know this probably is one of the most unpopular pairings, but what the heck. READ/Review, if you please.

**September**

She made one final adjustment to the shiny Head Girl badge pinned on her navy blue school robes, fastened and re-fastened the clasp just to make sure it was in place, straightened her collar, flipped her hair back, breathed deeply, and pushed the heavy oak doors forward.

As she entered the Great Hall, a gush of cool, autumn wind met her face, sweeping her long, black hair flowing smoothly behind her as she advanced, the heels of her new black suedes making low clicking noises against the marble floors. Heads turned as she strode towards the Ravenclaw table at the far right of the room. Naturally, she beamed at the random faces that greeted her. A Gryffindor first year, who has been openly smitten with her, even offered her a seat. But smiling politely, as a politician might have done, she waved an airy hand towards the boy—a motion that said, "thanks but no thanks"—before she carried on. Her raven mane was now slighlty tousled, but she expertly ran a few fingers and it was straightened, almost untouched, once again.

It wasn't the first day of classes in her final year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry but as always, Cho Chang wanted to make the perfect entrance. And so she did.

"G'morning," she greeted her girl friends Padma Patil and Marietta Edgecombe as she sat on the empty spot reserved for her. "Slept well, I hope."

"Bloody," Padma massaged her right temple with two of her fingers, eyes closed. "I cannot believe I let you talk me into getting pissed last night."

Mariettas's long blonde curls covered much of her face as she forked bits of bacon from her plate, but the mischievous grin playing on her lips was obvious. "But it was fun, right?"

Padma opened one eye and smiled sleepily, "Damn straight. Most fun I had this year."

Cho shook her head at the two, dismayed and jealous at the same time.

A group of Slytherin seniors organized a little get-together in a private area in the sixth floor last night. Invited were a select group of Ravenclaw and Gryffindor girls, including Lavender Brown, Padma's sister Parvati, and a lone Hufflepuff Giullia Juppé, who Cho heavily suspected was invited only because she was a Beauxbatons Academy exchange student. And you know what boys think about foreign exchange.

Anyway, she really wanted to come, even just to make a short appearance, but principle weighed more than her popularity status. She was Head Girl after all, although she wasn't as strict as, say, Percival Weasley.

"So, what went on?" Cho asked casually, not wanting to sound too left out.

"Terry Boot and Hannah Abbott were basically giving each other root canals," Marietta rolled her eyes and bit off her toast, before continuing with a mouthful of bread. "I got really drunk, but the last of my vivid recollections were Malfoy's fine, fine, Merlin-sent abs."

"Hallelujah!" Padma piped in dreamily.

Cho almost choked on her juice. "Why-was-nudity-involved?" She asked in one breath, wiping the side of her mouth with the table napkin.

"Some decided to play a modified spin the bottle game. No truth or consequence bull, you just need to strip one item of clothing everytime the bottle lands on you," Marietta explained, shooting a dirty glare at Guillia, who was chatting animatedly with a Hufflepuff senior. "Needless to say, the boys charmed the bottle so the Beauxbatons bimbo always had a go."

"Down to her scary red knickers, she was. A vile sight, if you ask me," Padma said, before taking a quick swig of a pepperup potion that Cho knew was from Marietta, who always had a ready stash. "Anyway, you should come next time, Cho. You're missing quite a lot."

Cho simply smiled. Something was on her mind. She knew it was Slytherin's party and _he_ couldn't possibly be there. But before she could stop herself, the question escaped her mouth. "Was Harry there?"

"Harry sodding Potter was not there, Cho. If he was, he's probably tied up in a pole, being torutred with feathers, leather chains, whips…" Marietta's exasperated voice trailed off as she saw a familiar character approach their table.

"Are you sure that's torture, Edgecombe? I happen to think that's rather kinky," said a smirking Draco Malfoy, who only caught the last bit of Marietta's sentence. Beside him was Terrence Higgs, the Head Boy from the Slytherin House, who was holding a bottle of Pepper-up as well.

Padma erupted in a fit of giggles, while Marietta raised a curious eyebrow up at the blonde-haired Slytherin. Cho quickly interrupted knowing fully how Marietta would possibly respond to Malfoy's remark (i.e. 'Care to try it out, then?' Or 'And you know a lot of kinkier things than that, I'm sure.')

"Higgs," she said, looking at him over her shoulder. "What brings you here?"

"We'll be in the dormitory," Padma jerked her thumb towards the exit, clutching the potion on one hand and Marietta's wrist on the other. Marietta simply had to be dragged out of Draco Malfoy's five-meter radius. Cho nodded half-heartedly as they bade goodbye.

"Listen," Terrence began, looking down at her. "McGonagall wants a report on how the Halloween Ball committee is doing. I don't know why the bloody hag wants to dip her quill in our ink but I say let's just make that our first agenda later. And, uh, I reckon we should cut the meeting short, am still quite hung over (he motioned to the Pepperup on his hand) and want to get some sleep before we dismangle Gryffindor tomorrow," he shot a contemptuous look over at the Gryffindor table.

"Damn right," Draco elbowed Terrence and the two laughed evilly.

Cho followed his gaze and felt a weird lurch in her stomach as she saw Harry, a feeling that seems to happen quite often these days, but knew better than to allow her eyes to linger …on his messy hair, the mysterious scar she could make out faintly from a distance, his bright green eyes that always seem to light up even more when he saw her , but that was then…

Too late. Draco saw her staring before she could shake herself out of the trance. He smirked knowingly at her.

"Get over that wanker, Chang." He said with an odd tone of pity and frustration in his voice, shaking his head at her before retreating to his table.

Cho was rendered speechless. It almost sounded like an instruction, she thought. She set her eyes down on her lap grudgingly. Get over him, he says. What did Malfoy know anyway? And it wasn't like she was going to start listening to the git. They weren't even friends.

She lazily picked up her fork and tossed the eggs and bacon around her plate, before finally deciding to return to her dorm to clear her head.

Cho almost tripped on a trick step on the way to the fifth floor up the changing staircases. She walked past the statue of Boris the Bewildered, made a right on the first corner and reached the suit of armor. She hoisted its left arm up and pushed the Hogwarts crest on the center of its chest armor and stepped back as the statue moved forward, allowing entrance to the Head Boy and Head Girl's chamber.

A sanctuary, this was. From the dimly lit torches to the musky scent that always prevailed (Terrence's perfume, she guessed ), the dormitory was almost a piece of heaven for Cho. The reception was quite spacious, it's size much like the house common rooms. Three sets of red upholstered sofas were situated by the white stone fireplace. A black Asian-inspired coffee table, underneath it a complimentary Oriental rug with dragon silhouettes, placed in the center of the fixtures, completed the living areas' old-world-slash-modern feel. The Ravenclaw and the Slytherin seals, glistening from the light from the several torches around the room, were hung facing each other on opposite walls above two doors that led to the bedrooms.

Cho went inside her room, the one on the right, collapsing on her unmade bed with her shoes on.

Her thoughts went back to Harry sodding Potter. Clutching her sheets tightly, she finally mustered the strength to admit to hereself that she is jealous. For months, her feelings for him were gone, or at least hidden somewhere in her conscious. After all, she wasn't allowed to reveal those inner struggles because _she_ broke up with him last year. And had good reason to, she believes.

When she and Harry parted ways last year, they started going out again for a couple of months after Cho broke up with Michael Corner, whom she found out was seeing a fifth year Gryffindor on the side. Harry took her back, even though he knew she was only on the rebound. She wanted their relationship to click, she so wanted it to. And it seemed almost right when their relationship progressed in levels of intimacy during those months.

But there was one thing that became apparent for Cho despite all that: She just doesn't like him enough… Enough to make sacrifices.

The Chosen One or the boy-who-lived, he was called. The mysterious scar that carved him a niche in magical history was the one thing that scared her the most.

The constant attention became too overhwleming for Cho. (And this is Cho we're talking about, a lady who loves being in the limelight.) A day would not pass that an oblivious stranger, star struck and awed by the lone reminder of how he unknowingly defeated he-who-must-not-be-named, would not ogle at him.

And then there were his sudden scar attacks. As much as she would like to care for him during his times of growing need, the scar attacks enveloped him with an air of mystery that drove her away from him. Knowing that he could be attacked by the Dark Lord any second instilled a growing paranoia in her that she too was in danger. More importantly, she already lost Cedric to the Dark Lord and she didn't want it to happen again.

So it had to be done. When she finally confessed to Harry Potter how she felt, he fled without a word. Marietta, who never really liked him, thought it was unmanly of him to go without defending himself, but it was better that way for Cho.

Since then, they had not spoken a word to each other. That had been fine for Cho, up until last week, during breakfast, when she found out something that bothered her.

"_I know something you both don't," Padma teased, waving her fork in the air like a wand._

_Cho and Marietta exchanged glances._

"_Fancy telling us now that we're SO dying of anticipation," Marietta replied sarcastically. Cho couldn't help but snicker._

_But Padma wasn't to be discouraged. "Guess who Harry Potter's new snog is…"_

_At this, Cho stopped dead from forking an unruly bacon and lifted her gaze to meet with her friend, who looked rather pleased with herself for acquiring the information. Cho suddenly felt likeshe was about to go sick. The mere mention of his name sent memories and old emotions flooding back to her, and before she could stop herself, she asked, a little too eagerly, "Who?"_

"_If I didn't hear you right, you sounded like a jealous ex," Marietta sniggered and shot Padma a knowing look. Cho felt herself flush.This was no laughing matter._

_Just when Padma was about to reveal the information, the Headmaster, whose voice was magically modulated to echo in the entire castle, announced, "All prefects proceed to the entrance hall."_

_Padma slid out of her seat, an apologetic, but slightly teasing look in her eyes. "Be back in a second."_

_But Cho didn't have to wait for Padma's answer. Her eyes immediately spotted the messy-haired Gryffindor, who was beside a redhead—not the lanky boy he always sat with but her sister—Ginny Weasley. They were feeding off each others' plates, giggling and giving googly eyes to each other, looking extremely in-love._

"_Jealous?" Marietta nudged Cho's elbow as she too eyed the new couple. Cho hated how Marietta always pointed out the obvious._

"_Are you kidding me," Cho failed at an attempt to sound cheerful and not look crestfallen. "'Fcourse not." The way her voice cracked and the tiny tear that fell from her eyes gave her away. With that she emptied her juice in a swift motion and much like Harry when she broke up with him, she fled without a word._

She stared at the ceiling, fighting back the tears that were waiting to escape her cat-like eyes. The freckly red-head isn't that pretty anyway, Cho thought. So she's in the Gryffindor team. And by the stories she heard, she's quite popular in her year.

"Oh sod it," she told herself after minutes of contemplating the finer points of Ginny Weasley's personality and comparing it to hers. She shot up in bullet-speed, went to her bathroom, gripped the faucet taps open, and doused her face with cold water.

"Enough," she told herself.

"Enough of what?" The mirror spoke.

"Oh shut up," Cho responded grudgingly.

She grabbed a fresh towel hanging on the rack to dry her face. She went out the bath to check the time. The alarm clock on her nightstand read: 15 minutes to NEWT-Potions. She picked up her white leather back pack, stuffed a couple of parchments from under her bed and hurried outside her room.

"Hey you don't mind if I bring a couple of my mates over tonight?"

She groaned inwardly, but merely shrugged at him. It wasn't like he'd let her stop him anyway.

His friends from the Slytherin Team spent so much time in their dormitory that they've become almost like a fixture.

Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle, two of the bulkiest boys in school, were always guffawing by the study desk. (Not doing any studying, of course) They were mostly eating sweets or playing Exploding snaps.

Draco Malfoy would be on the red leather chair, feet up on the table, reading a book. He could also sometimes be seen on the leather sofas, snogging his girlfriend, Pansy Parkinson, or talking Quidditch strategies with Terrence. Cho had a strong feeling that Malfoy was just sucking up to Higgs, him being Head boy and all.

And then there's Harold Flint, brother of former Quidditch captain Marcus. He'd be walking all over the room like he owned the place. He's obnoxious, nosy, and to put it simply, a huge asshole.

"See you later," she finally exited the room with Terrence calling out, "Thanks Cho," behind her as the suit armor once more sped backward and guarded the entrance.


	2. Ch 2: Spying on Harry

**Chapter Two: ****Spying on Harry**

Disclaimer: Characters are not mine; I'm just borrowing them from Miss J.K. Rowling. No copyright or trademark infringement intended.

A/N: Thanks to those who reviewed, I sent replies to each one. This is the first time I ever published a fic online and I really need all the support I can get. So thanks you guys. Also, if anyone would like to beta my fic, let me know. Special thanks to fellow Potterbitch Shar for all the encouragement

Classes were simply uneventful that day. NEWT-Potions were harsh as usual, History of Magic was boring as usual, and Study Hall was well, as per usual, the time to gossip.

Cho chewed on the end of her sugar quill as she listened to Padma's emotional tale of yet another argument with her boyfriend Seamus Finnegan, an Irish bloke from Gryffindor.

"Jerk," Marietta concluded after Padma capped her story with how Seamus heartlessly left her crying in the Entrance Hall after a heated argument involving Seamus' very close 'friendship' with Lavender Brown, a Gryffindor in their year. "I never really loiked that prat." She said, taking the Mickey out of his accent.

"Look at him," Padma almost crushed the sugar quill in her hand to crumbs. "He's doing this on purpose."

Cho was relieved to be given a reason to glance at the Gryffindors. She has been trying hard not to look at Harry, (mainly because she once glanced at him and she was accused by Marietta of obsessing on him, although she kind of was, to be honest) Good thing the opportunity presented itself. After briefly scanning the table for Padma's boyfriend (He was sharing his book with Lavender) she found Harry bidding goodbye to his friends Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, jerking his thumb toward the exit while mouthing something like, 'the owlery.'

Cho didn't know what came over her. Somehow, she saw this as an opening. An opening to what exactly? She didn't know. Excusing herself from her friends to go to the bathroom, she followed him out the study area.

Wary that she should be at least twenty or so paces behind him so as not to look suspicious, Cho walked slowly and casually, up the South Tower staircases, making sure her heels clicked softly as she went up.

What now? She asked herself. What was she to do? Ask him out. Hell no! Talk to him, for one. Be casual, she decided. Like you're sending a letter to somebody and he just happened to be there.

"Tsk, tsk," a female portrait called out to her, as though it knew what she was up to.

Cho ignored it and instead searched for an empty piece of parchment from her robe pocket. She found a small scrap paper where she had planned out a couple of Quidditch scoring strategies during a particularly dragging moment in History of Magic a while back. This should do, Cho decided. She'll just send it to Marietta…

Now how to greet him.

"Hi Harry." Or "Hello there." No, she scolded herself. Don't forget the 'Oh.' It adds an element of genuine surprise. "Oh hi Harry," would work just fine.

The fluttering and hooting of owls grew increasingly as she went up the last flight of stairs. She folded the piece of parchment and enclosed it in her right hand as she entered the Owlery. She tentatively walked inside. It wasn't a vast space, but the labyrinth of tall owl cages obstructed the view of the entire place. She walked toward the far right of the Owlery, and from a distance found Harry's familiar figure. She watched him from the corner as he tied something on the leg of his snowy owl. He seemed to be talking to it as he straightened some of it feathers.

Then she saw Ginny's flaming red hair appear from behind Harry's silhouette. "No flaming way," she told herself. But she just couldn't miss it—a stark contrast to everything in sight, Ginny's mane stood out against the backdrop of a clear blue sky.

Suddenly, Cho's eyes locked with Ginny's piercing, accusing stare.

Panicking, Cho walked quickly to the other side of the area, feeling her face grow hotter by each step.

'Great, now they think I'm spying on them.' She felt like hiding. She felt like jumping off the tower. Or maybe if the earth just swallowed her whole, it would save her from all the humiliation.

Now aptly obstructed by the cages, she put her elbows on the balustrades and slack jawed, looked at the view from below to calm her raging emotions.

Why was she doing this to herself? How embarrassing! She could already hear Marietta's all-knowing voice telling her to get over Harry sodding Potter and move on because she's better off without him. A different voice interrupted her thoughts.

"You ought to take points. See," Draco Malfoy pointed his cigarette towards the couple. "Snogging." He took a puff on his cigarette. Cho didn't bother to look at the couple and watched as he exhaled small rings of smoke that floated upward and disappeared. Then he turned his back on the stone barriers. If there was a way to coolly lean on something, he was definitely doing it. In a black jumper and trousers, Cho thought he looked very polished.

"I should give you detention for that." She pointed at his Silk Cut. "Not so much that you're smoking, mind, but because Silk Cut is very gay. Do try Dunhill or Marlboro."

"Clever," he said, bringing the cigarette held together by his pointing finger and thumb between his lips for a puff. But Cho knew Malfoy won't leave an insult as such unanswered. "This is Pansy's stash, I left mine in my room," he said casually, blowing the air of smoke toward the other direction.

"Of course it is," she smirked at him. "Where is she then? I didn't know the Owlery is the new Astronomy Tower."

"One, I left her in the classroom, and two, public snogging is for wankers like Potter," He shot her a look from the corner of his eye. "I'd rather have nobody watching when I work my magic." He winked at her.

She shook her head and tied the piece of parchment to the foot of the owl and told it to deliver the note to Marietta Edgecombe, Ravenclaw house. It gave a low hoot before flying downward.

Draco watched her interestingly, his lips curled to the sides in a manner of sarcasm. "The depths you go, Chang."

Cho felt herself flush. For a moment she thought about denying it, but there really was no point. Besides, it was only Malfoy, he won't blab. He isn't exactly the gossiping type.

"I don't know what came over me really," she said, glancing at him with pleading eyes, asking for any sort of encouragement or comforting words that her friends would have readily offered. But Cho should've known better than to seek solace from a Slytherin, much more a Malfoy.

For a moment his gray orbs stared blankly at her. He looked away as he threw the cigarette butt on the ground and extinguished the flame with his shoe. "All you need is a good shag," he lifted his brows at her and left.

Cho pondered the idea over the next few days.

**Read/Review. c",)**

_Chapter Three: The love pariah and her shag therapy, will be up VERY SOON. It just needs a lillte tweaking. ;)_


	3. Ch 3: The Love Pariah & her Shag Therapy

Disclaimer: Characters are not mine, I'm just borrowing them from Miss J.K. Rowling. No copyright or trademark infringement intended.

A/N: The term love pariah was taken from a book authored by Helen Fielding titled Bridget Jones: Edge of Reason, one of the most brilliant series of all time.

Also, hugs to all my reviewers. Thanks for taking time. I know there are probably a number of Cho/Draco fics out there but I haven't found out a novel-length that's set entirely in Hogwarts. Most of the fics I found are post-Hogwarts and one-shots. So I hope this will suffice for all the rabid Ch/D shippers, like myself, out there. And if you know a good Ch/D story, tell me about it, k?

The -333-s are just little breakers since the asterisks don't seem to work.

The fourth chapter is also up! Now R&R luvs:)

**Chapter Three: **

**The Love Pariah and her Shag Therapy**

Cho awoke one morning to find Draco and Pansy making out in the front room. It's one thing that Slytherins come and go in her dormitory as they please. What's worse was that Draco and his girlfriend was the constant reminder that she was a love pariah (although of course, this is a temporary state, much like the El Niño phenomenon, as Cho always told herself) This, however, was not the first time she saw them engaging in several activities. She had seen them doing a little more than kissing (in the menagerie one night when she was doing her rounds. But she was too depressed then to take away points). But for them to be swapping spit at such an early time of day was just bloody wrong.

She faked a coughing fit, successfully parting the couple, as she made her way to the study table to retrieve her DADA book.

"G'morning," she greeted, tucking her book under her arm on the way back to her room.

"Morning," Pansy replied flatly with arms still wrapped around Draco's neck, looking very eager to resume their activities. Draco, meanwhile, who was checking his nails, simply looked uninterested.

"Where's Higgs?" Cho asked.

"In the bath, I reckon," Draco replied.

"Right," she said and left them at that.

She went inside her bathroom and stared at her reflection.

Ok. It wasn't like she was competely unshaggable physically. Her straight, jet black hair looks rather nice. She just got out of bed and the wonder of it looking like it was blow-dried straight is to really envy. Her chocolate brown, cat-like eyes, were deep and mysterious. And her lips, thin on top, full on bottom, are plump, red… quite kissable if you asked, well, her.

What is unshaggable, Cho thought, (and this frustrated her to no end) was her very unshaggable past. She used to be one of the extremely sought-after girls in Hogwarts. In fact, many of the high profile boys—Quidditch captains, exchange students, and the simply gorgeous lot—had already asked her out. And for some reason, every boy she dated topped the one before in some aspect.

After news about Cedric Diggory (quidditch captain, spectacular athlete, and very handsome) dying at the hands of You-know-who broke out, it was like she was completely untouchable… unshaggable, even. As a "widow," of course, she appreciated that people respected that she wanted to mourn, to grieve for her loss, but it wasn't like they were married or anything. Don't get her wrong. Cedric meant so much to Cho, but one can only wallow in bitterness and loss for so long.

Then came Harry. Well, everybody knew what Harry was all about. He was the boy-who-lived for Merlin's sake! And Cho knew, that Harry, was the most up-there boy she'll ever date. Ever.

Now, boys seem to be intimidated? Scared? Even if she dated only those two boys, (there were more, but they weren't notable) it would be hard for any guy to digest that he's courting a girl who used to date triwizard champions, athletes, and modern-day heroes, perhaps.

Cho sighed as she leaned for close inspection of her face. She turned her face to the right, left. Freckles seem to have been more visible these days. And then, she found a zit. Ugh. Spectacular, how the day is starting!

-333-

At breakfast, Cho unburdened to Padma and Marietta her self-pity and loneliness exacerbated by the conversation with Draco the other day. The setting of the Draco encounter was well-edited, leaving out the obvious fact that that conversation wouldn't have taken place if she hadn't followed Harry up the Owlery.

"You know what, maybe I do need a shag. Not a good shag, any shag would do really," Cho said sullenly before sipping her pumpkin juice. Come to think of it, Cho hasn't snogged anyone since, well, Harry.

"That's just unacceptable, Cho," Marietta said disgustedly. "Never settle."

"Absolutely," Padma nodded, reaching for the toast on the table.

"Excuse me?" Marietta grabbed Padma's wrist, "Then why are you still with Finnegan?"

Padma's face turned crimson as she wriggled her wrist free from Marietta's grip and placed the toast on her plate. "Oh shut up Marietta, pick on Cho for a change." She returned her attention to her eggs, before her head shot up again and she said matter-of-factly, nose held high, "And we're doing fine now. We had a decent discussion and had decided to compromise."

"Wow," Marietta said in mock excitement as she raised both arms up, boredly waving them in the air. "Hurrraaaah."

"Oh sod off," Padma said, biting into her toast.

"Anyway, somebody sent me a note the other day," Marietta fished something from her robe pockets and showed it to them. "It's full of x's and o's and squiggles, and arrows, and no undersigned. It's just mad."

Cho bit her lip to suppress a smile, "Yeah… mad. Can I see it?"

She pretended to study the parchment, and when she thought Marietta got distracted, she slid it back inside her robe pockets.

-333-

Before dinner, Cho made a detour to her dormitory to drop off her books. And Merlin be damned, her heart skipped a beat when she found Harry sodding Potter waiting by the entrance statue. His fingers were tracing the shiny armor. For a moment Cho debated whether or not to flee, but her feet made the decision for her.

"Harry," she said, tentatively walking towards him, but stopping for a safe distance. "What brings you here?"

"Cho, hi!" he said in slight shock, withdrawing his hand from the armor and placing it inside his trouser pockets. "How are you?"

"Spectacular," she said slowly, questioning him by the puzzled look on her face. "And you?"

"Great," he said smiling nervously. She always made him nervous at some degree, Cho was glad that she still had that effect on him.

"So…" she started.

"I wanted to tell you that umm…" he paused looking on the floor and then back at her once more, "I saw you in the Owlery, and I…"

"I didn't know you were there actually," Cho lied quickly, avoiding his intense green eyes.

Harry scratched the back of his head and interjected, "Ginny and I are not…"

"Why are you explaining?" Cho demanded. She was suddenly yelling, as though him mentioning Ginny's name struck a nreve inside her. "I'm not even sure if I want to know exactly what you and Ginny are, anyway. So if you'll excuse me." She said walking past him to hoist the arm of the suit of armor.

"Cho," he grabbed her by the arm, pulling her gently toward him.

Cho's heart was racing. To be so near him again…

"I missed you and I still think about you," he said almost breathlessly as he took an unruly strand of hair and tucked it behind her ear. "A lot," he added as an afterthought before he let her go.

Cho's feet were planted to the ground as she watched her reflection dancing in his eyes. She tried to look away but she couldn't, she was locked in those piercing pools of emerald.

"I missed you too." She wrapped her arms around his waist and pressed her cheek in his shoulder, inhaling the familiar scent of soap and musk that was distinctly Harry.

He ran his fingers through her long hair in soothing strokes, stopping at the small of her back, where he slightly pushed her toward him. Cho raised her head up. Their faces were just inches apart now. Then, their lips melded in a warm, fiery kiss.

After what seemed like lightyears, Harry jerked his head meaningfully toward the room. And Cho nodded.

-333-

'_Oh Merlin what am I getting myself into_,' Cho thought as she placed her head on his shoulder and stared into crackling flames. She felt warm; they were settled in front of the fireplace, after all, but it could also be Harry's presence.

He slid his arm around her waist, his other hand was clasped tightly on hers.

'_Maybe just a little snuggle…_" She decided, looking up and smiling at him. '_Nothing more_.'

And then she felt his hot breath on her neck. He started kissing, licking, and sucking in an almost practiced, but skilled fashion. Cho was surprised by his improvement and suddenly had fleeting mental images of Harry and Ginny. '_Hmph_,' she said to herself. '_The git has been getting some action_.'

But all thoughts instantly vanished when his hand slid up her white oxfords, found the one thing, (well two things,) that made her gasp and stroked, touched, pinched…

'_Ok this is niiiice_,' Cho closed her eyes, feeling that unexplainable rush inside her body. '_But I'll let him carry on for only a few more minutes…_"

And then he stopped. He completely stopped every wonderful thing he was doing to her.

Horrorstricken, Cho's eyes flew open. '_No, don't stop! Don't go!_' Her brain was screaming as he started to move…

Closer. In front of her. Cho was relieved. He just changed his position. For one moment there, she really thought he was leaving. Harry grinned slyly as he moved in, capturing her lips again with his. She linked her arms around his neck, pulling him closer.

Cho miscalculated. She did not want this to carry only for just a few minutes, she wanted it to last all through the night. And it did.

-333-

Cho pulled the red satin sheets over her nakedness as she sat upright on her bed, thinking about their hot, delicious night.

It was silly of her to keep reflecting and rewinding the experiences that morning after but she could not help it. She wanted to remember everything, every little detail. From how Harry opened the champagne bottle (bits of cork crumbled and fell inside the wine) to how he muted a gasp in each of her thrusts and how he wore the left sock before the right one before putting on his shoes to leave.

When he left, the room seemed bigger, as though his presence filled the entire room up to the small, hidden corners. The flames in the fireplace were dull compared to last night when Harry made them ignite to a bigger, hotter flame with a simple _Flagrate_ spell. The sheets weren't as soft or smooth, as though silk wasn't as silky without his touch.

Cho reached for her wand on the nightstand and muttered, "_Alterno_," instantly changing her wine-colored sheets into innocent baby blue, sun and moon-printed, cotton covers.

-333-

_Like it? Hate it? Now press that pretty review button (you know you want to!) and make this girl happy._ :) Thanks.


	4. Ch 4: Reason for the Rendezvous

Disclaimer: Characters are not mine, I'm just borrowing them from Miss J.K. Rowling. No copyright or trademark infringement intended.

A/N: This chapter is lovingly dedicated to my little sister, the most rabid DM/GW shipper I know, for influencing me to write HP fiction.

The -444-s are breakers.

Now R&R luvs :)

**Chapter Four**

**Reason for the Rendezvous**

Draco Malfoy was right. All she needed was a good shag!

After that amazing night with Harry, Cho was looking and feeling her best. The week flew by faster than a Firebolt. Cho busied herself with everything—academics, Quidditch practices, and Head Girl duties—without any complaint. Cho never told anyone of her and Harry. But her change of mood and behaviour was rather obvious that a lot of people were alarmed and curious.

One morning that week, she sat beside the Gryffindor first-year who has been tailing her all month. She felt that the poor boy was making too much of an effort that she should just accept his invitation even just this once. Plus, it gave her a good, closer view of Harry, who was just a couple of seats away.

And then there was one night, Cho came from the library and was greeted by the unwelcome band of Slytherin boys who were all playing cards in the living room. Cho, seemingly possessed by spirits from the unknown, beamed with a joyful "Hi (insert name here)" for all of them, individually.

Harold, Vincent, and Greg all nodded dismissively, but Draco caught something suspicious in her tone. Cho felt he would note something, after that overly dramatic episode in the Owlery the other day.

"_So," he looked up from shuffling the deck. "No more cobwebs _down there_?" Draco gestured to her meaningfully, a sly smirk on his lips. Crabbe and Goyle sniggered._

"_Whether or not I am having sex is none none of your business, Malfoy," she said simply. But her suggestive eyebrow raise meant something._

"_What are you two going on about?" Terrence came out from his bed chamber._

_Cho turned to the messy-haired Slytherin and shook her head. "Nothing. Good night," she said, skipping happily toward her room. That's right, she was skipping._

It had been easy to dodge other people's bullets, but when Padma and Marietta started to get suspicious, it was mad!

One time, when Harry (sans Ginny, who hasn't been around all week to Cho's surprise) greeted her as they walked past each other in the corridor, Marietta muttered a rude, "Goodbye Harry," capped off with a death glare. Padma, also, (upon Marietta's orders, Cho suspected) deliberately blocked Harry from her view during mealtimes following an incident on dinner last Wednesday when they caught her eyeing him flirtatiously and him winking at her.

They got together that night. And that time, Cho had no thoughts about Ginny at all. She wondered where the little redhead has gone. But it wasn't like he was complaining for her absence. Having Harry back in her life has been completely awesome.

But she felt that her friends' interference was getting out of hand. She just had to tell them. And she found the perfect timing on Saturday morning when they were hanging out in the pitch. Padma was watching his boyfriend training with the Gryffindor Quidditch team.

Cho inhaled a deep breath and asked tentatively, "Can I tell you guys something?"

"What is it Cho," Padma asked, rubbing the back of her neck which was sore from looking up at his boyfriend.

"Let's just say, I'm not entirely a love pariah anymore."

"Hey Harry!" From just a few feet away, Ron Weasley was calling his bestfriend who was practicing a bit of flying. Immediately, Cho's eyes darted up and saw Harry's familiar figure slowly descending toward the red-haired Gryffindor. She smiled, following him with her gaze.

"No," Marietta said with finality, understanding fully what was going on. "For Chrissakes Cho! You promised…"

"I never promised anything." Cho replied, blushing. "And it's not supposed to be out in the open." She said the last bit softly, ashamedly, refusing to meet her friends' eyes.

"Cho, you're becoming the _other_ woman..." Padma said regretfully. "Do you really want to be that?"

"I'm not, no! Besides, it's not like we're dating again. We're just…" she stopped, not knowing how to finish her sentence.

"Shagging?" Marietta supplied, again stressing the obvious.

Cho shrugged, looking down on her lap. She didn't think it would be this difficult telling it to her closest friends.

"That shifty, underhanded bastard," Marietta eyed Harry furiously from a few feet away. "I'm gonna hex that git to pieces." And it looked like she really was about to launch one towards the unknowing Harry, who was unstrapping his shinguards on the bench, when Cho interjected.

"But I like him," she admitted, looking at Padma, then Marietta. "And it sucks being alone."

For a few moments, silence settled over the usually flamboyant trio. Cho felt dizzy with embarrassment, but she knew she did the right thing to tell them. She looked at her friends with pleading eyes, imploring them to just accept her situation.

"I understand, Cho," Marietta enveloped Cho in her arms. "I'm sorry. You know I don't think he's right for you."

"But whatever makes you happy," Padma joined in, hugging Cho from behind. "Everything will work out."

"I hope so," Cho nodded wistfully as she was released from the embrace. "And thank you."

Marietta forced a small smile.

"Now tell us," Padma giggled. "How was it?"

-444-

It was the first Hogsmeade visit that afternoon. Cho, Padma, and Marietta wasted no time and immediately scoured the stores for their Halloween Ball costumes.

"This is make-or-break," Padma said as she pushed hangers back and forth in Charisma's Costumes and Craftwork, a newly opened shop in Hogsmeade that was already flanked with Hogwarts students.

"No geeky costumes for us." Marietta looked remorsefully at Eloise Midgen who was at the far side of the store, sporting a striking yellow and black bumble bee costume. "Honestly!"

Cho giggled and returned her attention to the rack. She pulled out a pink tutu. She used to do ballet when she was six—that was exactly why she returned it to the rack. She wasn't six anymore. Then there was a cute faerie costume, complete with wings and all. But she was sure half the Hogwarts female population will be going as such. And as if on cue, Padma pulled out a similar faerie costume, hugged it triumphantly and said, "This is mine."

"Don't let us stop you," Cho grinned. Inwardly wishing her friend would return it so she won't be part of the faerie statistic.

Marietta pulled at her curly locks as though going insane, "Merlin help me, I don't know what to wear!"

"Go as a pumpkin," Padma offered, giggling.

"You're not helping," Marietta said bitterly and walked to the back of the store to look at the other garments. Padma, on the other hand, went inside the fitting area to try her costume.

Suddenly, Cho saw it—the outfit she will be wearing to the Ball. It was red and sparkly and beautiful. Never mind that it was overkill. She bought it at once.

-444-

"I'm not showing you what I bought. Period," Cho clutched protectively at her brown bag, holding it away from her friends' prying hands.

"Fine, be that way," Marietta, who was still ill-tempered because she hasn't found a costume yet, walked quickly away from her and Padma and into the Three Broomsticks.

"Marietta's in pyscho mode again," Padma said, eyes widening for effect. "Anyway, I promised I'd go see Parvati, so I'll see you later."

"Sure." Cho said, suddenly finding herself alone in a cold, Winter's day. She decided to go to Quality Quidditch Supplies to check out new equipment. Aside from being an Auror, one of the career paths she is seriously considering after graduation is playing professional Quidditch.

The small sports shop was filled with Hogwarts boys, whom Cho recognized were from the House teams. She pushed the doors open, the sound of the chime drowned by the murmurs of the different people conversing about the latest Quidditch results (Chudley Cannons won against Puddlemere United, 230-210, this morning) and the new edition of the Firebolt, Firebolt 3000.

Cho joined the small crowd that had assembled around the broom. It still had the same polished oak finish.

"Kinda looks the same if you ask me," Terry Boot from the Hufflepuff team commented.

"The difference is when you ride it," a female voice from across of her said. Cho looked up, and lo and Behold, Ginny Weasley was back from the grave. She had little red spots on her face intermingling with the numerous freckles splattered on her cheeks.

"Have you tried it then?" Cho couldn't stop herself from interrogating.

"No," Ginny replied blushing and pointed to the small placard hanging above the broom. "I'm just reading from the advertisement."

Cho looked up and found the exact phrase written in a thick, gold, catch-my-attention-will-'ya? font. She looked at the redhead again and saw her smiling at her. She forced a grin back.

"Hey Gin, welcome back," Michael Corner patted Ginny's shoulder and walked toward the stand of merchandise from various Quidditch teams.

She beamed at him. "Thanks."

'_So _s_he really was gone_,' Cho thought curiously. '_What could have happened? Emotional breakdown when she found out Harry was getting back with me?_' She thought triumphantly.

And then, Harry appeared from behind the Gryffindor, gesturing a white shopping bag toward her. Cho couldn't help but stare as he slid his arm on Ginny's waist, the same way he did to her just the other day.

Cho immediately looked away when Harry, with a face of sheer terror and embarrassment, saw her from across of them, with just the Firebolt 3000 and the hanging advertisement separating them. But he didn't let go of the girl. He didn't even try to apologize. He just stood there as though waiting for Cho to spontaneously combust.

Her grip on her shopping bag tightened as she suppressed the angry words that were willing to escape her pursed lips. Not wanting to create a scene though, Cho stormed out the store, the chime on the door falling on the floor behind her. She kept walking and walking aimlessly, fighting back the tears that were waiting to leak from her eyes. All at once, she was upset, furious, and embarrassed. Upset that she again opened her heart to a cheating bastard, furious that the cheating bastard turned out to be Harry, and embarrassed that she was outplayed by one Ginny Weasley.

She was a flaming Ravenclaw for Melin's sake, she should be clever and cunning. But she allowed herself be dragged downward by a disloyal prick like Harry.

She looked around and no longer found little shops adorned with various Halloween décor in sight. She then realized that she was trudging the snowy path back up the castle. She kept walking forward, convincing herself not to cry, as she took one step after the other.

"The ragdoll had chicken pox. Was in St. Mungo's for a week," the drawling voice of Draco Malfoy stopped her from her tracks.

She whipped her head towards the boy, who was coolly leaning back on a tree, one foot pressing against the bark. His usually catchy blond locks were covered by an ash-coloured bonnet that matched his gray and black winter robes.

"That's if you're wondering why scarhead suddenly had time to rendezvous," he said, before taking one last puff of cigarette before flicking it away.

For a while, Cho just stood there aghast, looking at him as he approached, boots sinking on the squishy snow, as he walked towards her, his hands inside his pockets.

Without warning, she just broke down and cried, her eyes producing endless streams of tears. She didn't even see how Draco reacted when she suddenly bursted there like a mental case, but she felt his arms wrapped tentatively around her thin frame, before she instinctively pressed her face against his broad shoulders, relaxing in the comfort of somebody's embrace.

They wordlessly stood there, with Cho, tortured by the nagging voices inside her head.

"I know this is horrible timing for 'I told you so,' but," he huffed. "Potter's a bloody ass."

"Sorry," she said, taking a step back from his embrace and wiping her tear-strewn face with the back of her gloved hand. "I just," she couldn't find the right words to say, "Thanks," she said simply and sincerely.

"I'll walk you back," he offered, motioning a polite hand for her to go first.

She nodded, her hair flowing like a curtain when she looked down on her boots. Together, they walked back up the castle silently, uncomfortably, with about a three-person width separating them.

But it was a start.

-444-

_Like it? Hate it? Now press that pretty review button (you know you want to!) and make this girl happy. _:) Thanks.


	5. Ch 5: Cry, laugh, cry

5

Disclaimer: Characters are not mine, I'm just borrowing them from Miss J.K. Rowling. No copyright or trademark infringement intended.

A/N: HAPPY HOLIDAYS ALL! Sorry for the major delays.

My general response to all the reviewers: Thank you so much for taking a moment to read this. It means so much to me. And I'll try to add more Ch/D action, but it's going to have to be gradual and subtle. Cho's been hurt and Malfoy has to maintain his cold, arrogant self at all costs. So there. Also, I'll try to provide for you better descriptions and vivid imagery so you'll visualize the story better. This is my first story, so thanks for bearing with me. -- hugs

The -555-s are breakers.

Now R&R luvs:)

**Cry, laugh, cry**

This girl had incredible tear ducts.

All week, Cho Chang could not be sedated. If not for eye drops and other potions, Cho would've looked horrible. Her chinky eyes were almost non-existent, sore from all the crying she'd been doing. She'd be in the bathroom, her dormitory, any empty classroom, and the menagerie, sobbing her little heart out because of Harry Potter. In fact, she was taking the set phrase cry me river a wee bit too seriously.

The last time she felt this much pain was when Cedric died. It felt like a part of her died as well.

But this time she felt like she was constantly withering. As much as she'd like to be numb about it, she really was disappointed that Harry's sudden interest in her was only because of Ginny Weasley's absence. She was the fall back. No one wants to be the fall back.

The sex was ruddy marvelous, she wouldn't lie. But since she wasn't the type to shag someone with no strings attached, it was exceptionally painful and mortifying, to say the least, that she was used, abused, taken for a ride… A part of her actually believed all the sincere looks he gave her, those smiles, those winks. Turns out all of it were bloody lies.

Terrence and his friends would find her slumped on the rug in front of the fireplace, watching the flames with glassy eyes. At one point, Terrence asked her to join in in their conversations because she was sobbing too much and making such a racket. Cho was merely an observer, never joining in on Quidditch talks or professor bashing.

Padma and Marietta, meanwhile, had been plotting revenge on Harry; magically lacing up his shoe laces so he'll trip; Padma "accidentally" set fire to his sleeves in Potions class, and Marietta's favorite, insulting him when he passes by—All very juvenile things that somehow sufficed their vengeful state.

Cho never approved any of their antics, though. But she did nothing to stop her friends. She was far too busy feeling miserable.

-555-

"What a royal ass," Marietta said, her steady gaze on Harry, who walked past them in the hallway. "Thinks he can get away with anything."

Cho determinedly looked away, picking off imaginary lints on her robes just to avoid looking at him.

The pair was waiting outside the sixth years' Charms classroom for Professor Flitwick, who just finished his class. Marietta was planning to ask for extra credit, because she failed a practical exam the other day.

As more students exited the classroom, Marietta suddenly blurted out, "Zacharias Smith asked me to the Ball, I said yes." The curly blonde continued even when Cho opened her mouth to comment, "I know, I know, he's an arrogant puss, but he's way better than Estrangelo Trizona, you know, from Hufflepuff. I don't even know if I pronounced his name right."

Cho didn't know what to say after that. She found herself just watching the sixth years filing out the room… more Gryffindors, then the Hufflepuffs… and the Slytherins… Crabbe, Goyle, and of course, there's Malfoy…

'_Why is he so pale?' _Cho thought. '_And his hair is too blond, I wonder if he bleaches it_…

"Chang," a serious voice interrupted her thoughts.

"Cho," Marietta nudged her on the side, whispering fiercely with tightened lips. "You're bloody staring at bloody Malfoy."

Cho felt her face grow hot as she saw Draco's questioning gaze at her.

"Oh," she flushed, words seem to be sputtering out of her mouth in shock, "I didn't… I wa… Did I ju… Sorry."

Draco simply walked away without a word, his cronies following him to the changing staircases.

"What the bloody hell was that about?" Marietta asked furrowing her brows at Cho. But before Cho could answer, Marietta spotted Professor Flitwick signalling her to come inside the now vacated classroom.

-555-

It has been around fifteen minutes already and Cho was getting a bit impatient waiting for Marietta. Their next class was in ten minutes. And the Potions master wasn't particularly forgiving with tardy students.

"Chang," a pitchy female voice called out.

"Parkinson," Cho noted, nodding at the black-haired Slytherin princess, who had the most unexplainable expression in her face as she approached her, followed by a couple of sixth year Slytherin girls, the large Millicent Bullstrode being one of them. "Can I help you?" she inquired tentatively as she took in the steely gazes from all five of them.

"I was told you were walking with Draco the other night, why were you with him?" Parkinson demanded, crossing her arms across her chest.

"I wasn't," Cho began, but then remembered. "Alright, he offered to walk me back on the night of the Hogmeade trip. It's not a big deal really."

"Sure it isn't, you dirty bitch!"

Cho was stunned. She has not had experience with neurotic, jealous girlfriends. She stood there mouth gaped open, unable to form anything coherent in her head to defend herself.

Parkinson smirked, "If you so much as touch the hem of his robes again, I swear to Merlin…" the Slytherin's voice trailed off as Marietta seized her by the elbow and said, "Or what?"

Bullstrode started to advance, but Cho quickly put the lid on a brewing disaster.

"C'mon Marietta," she picked up her bookbag, slung it on her shoulder, and calmly told Parkinson, "I really do not have time to deal with your childish insecurities."

"Go stick a wand up your ass," Marietta pushed Pansy aside, releasing her elbow, where four red spots formed from where Marietta's fingers had gripped it.

As they wordlessly dispersed, Marietta huffed, "That'll teach that insect."

-555-

Come Saturday, Cho was a little less high-strung. To battle her deppression she had resorted to sleeping and more sleeping. She was also doing a rather fine job in avoiding Harry. And after that encounter in the Charms hallway, she was also trying to steer clear of Parkinson just to avoid further rough encounters.

"Oh Merlin," Cho squinted as the afternoon sun peered through her vision. She glanced toward the side of her bed and the clock on her nightstand, read: 1:00. It usually told when her next class is going to be on, but since it wasn't a school day, it only said the time.

She swung her legs over her bed, slipped her baby blue bunny slippers on her feet and walked outside.

Terrence flicked his wand and the drapes of the high windows moved obediently to the sides, revealing the breathtaking view of the Hogwarts field. "Light snow, a bit of sun… The weather's perfect!" he told his teammates excitedly.

"Perfect for what?" Cho asked, rubbing her eyes sleepily.

"Quidditch," he replied, plopping down on one of the upholstered seats in the living area. "We're playing Hufflepuff today."

"Oh."

"Are you watching the game?" Terrence looked up from lacing his boots on the couch.

"No, I don't know, actually," Cho slumped on the opposite chair as she watched Draco in front of the mirror, tapping his head with his wand and mumbling something under his breath. "What in Merlin's name are you doing?"

He whipped his head at her, returned the stare, before slipping his wand into his pockets without a reply.

"Well?" Cho was waiting.

"Keeps the hair in place," Draco said dismissively, before approaching her with an oh-so familiar smirk. "Anyway, do yourself a favor and watch Crabbe and Goyle over here thrash a bludger smack into your little prince's face."

"But Gryffindor isn't playing," Cho replied tentatively.

"We'll make it look like an accident," Draco said as he pulled a black glove over a hand, his eyes gleaming deviously at her. Cho didn't know whether to be amused or infuriated by the comment, so she decided not to say anything.

Crabbe and Goyle guffawed at Malfoy's comment like the idiots that they were. Terrence, meanwhile, started jogging in place and doing various stretching exercises that made Cho doubt that he still had the capacity to procreate.

"So Chang, how is the gigolo?" Draco smirked as he occupied the seat across of her and strapped on his shinguards.

"If you're talking about Harry, well…"

"No he's talking about Crabbe," Goyle cut in, "Seriously Chang, stop crying already, it's dulling your wit."

"This coming from a guy who gets hungry every time he hears the word Qu-waffle," Cho snapped and gave Goyle the sweetest smile.

Goyle looked aghast.

"How did you know that?" Terrence roared in laughter as Goyle tried to redeem himself, but all that came out were indignant squeaks and unfinished phrases. "I di… that was… I don't… Oh shut up Crabbe."

Cho smiled to herself. How _did_ she know that? She decided she must have overheard it during the many times the Slytherins had been in the dormitory.

"You can't keep hanging with us anymore," Terrence exhanged looks with his friends with a slightly worried look in his eyes. "Next thing you know, she'll be nicking our Quidditch plays."

They all nodded solemnly in agreement.

"Blatant cheating does not constitute a legitimate Quidditch play, thank-you-very-much," she waved an airy hand and crossed her arms across her chest, nose righteously held high.

"We're just playing good defense if you ask me," Draco raised a brow at her and snickered slightly. Cho returned the steely gaze.

After more velcro straps were strapped and laces laced up, the Slytherin boys were ready and off to the pitch.

"Come on guys, I think it's time to win," Terrence said as he led the way to the exit, clapping Cho on the shoulder as he passed, "See you later Chang."

Cho nodded.

"Right Higgs, time to take operation: "blatant cheating" (he made bunny quotes with two fingers) into action," Draco sneered, following Terrence and his bulky friends out.

Cho huffed as she watched the polished Slytherins, decked in their expensive Quidditch robes of green and white, dragging their designer brooms outside with an air of conceit engulfing them.

Later that day, conceit turned into pure, unadulterated arrogance, because they won. A celebration in the Head Boy and Head Girl Chamber ensued, to Cho's utter disbelief. For most of the night, she lay awake in her bed, before she thought of using a Silencing Charm to muffle the noise. But the magic came too late as she already heard a couple of things she probably would've liked not to hear: a barfing Goyle, Terrence's horrible singing voice, and Malfoy and Parkinson's big fall-out, which led to their apparent break-up.

Cho could not care less, though, she had her own problems to worry about. Like finding a date for the Ball.

-555-

For the next couple of days, a different air surrounding the Great Hall. Not of glum or despair, unlike the past years when Hogwarts was faced with a lot of evil creatures lurking aorund the castle, but of panic, tension, and anxiety. The Halloween ball was, after all, the week after. And those without dates were obviously in the edges of their seats.

One notable example would be Neville Longbottom, who had sanutered from table to table asking random pretty girls to the ball to the jeers and cheers of his Gryffindor folks. Cho went cold when Neville reached the Ravenclaw area, unsure of what to tell him in the event that he asked her. But Longbottom merely passed her and went over to Yvette Lindon, who despite the initial shock of being asked by an unlikely character, surprisingly said yes. She didn't know if she was relieved. Or pissed. Was she really that untouchable now?

That night, Cho was doing a five-meter Potions essay on the properties and functions of boomslang skin and heart of krypton, when Terrence, holding a copy of Hogwarts: A History, walked out of his bed chamber and announced, "You have to be my date for the ball."

"What?" Cho looked up interestedly from her Potions assignment.

"It says here, and I quote, 'It is tradition for the Head Boy and the Head Girl to be each other's partners in all school activities especially dances,'" he sat on the study desk, closing the book with one hand. "As such, I am left with no choice but to have you as my date."

"Oh give me that," Cho said, snatching the book from him and scanning the page from where he was reading. "There's nothing here that says—Oh!"

She suddenly realized what it was about and returned the book to him.

"You don't have a date, do you?" she smiled, a real smile, not those fake ones that meant pity.

"I sure as hell don't. Neither do you, so I heard. I asked your curly friend," he said, pulling the chair beside her.

She blushed. It was embarrassing to admit that nobody still has asked her out.

"Worry not Cho, I don't plant to publicize our little arrangement," Terrence said, patting her gently on the back, and walked towards the nearest sofa where he collapsed. "If I had known Goyle was asking Giullia out. That git."

"Giullia Juppe? The french forex? And she said yes?" Cho asked incredulously, suddenly having mental pictures of the curvaceous frenchie and Goyle dancing lasciviously. She immediately shook herself off the nastiness.

"Christ Cho, I wouldn't be dateless if she ignored Goyle," Terrence lifted his arms up in exasperation.

"Well, so-rry," she said, dipping her quill in the bottle of ink. "At least you'll get to take a decent lady."

She didn't expect that it would boil down to this. It's like an arranged marriage, for Merlin's sake!

Oddly, she still hoped Harry would take her. Or at least apologize that he couldn't because Ginny was threatening to slit his throat, infect him with a virus or anything of the sort. All her sleepless nights in anticipation of the big invite were all in vain.

Then again,_ 'Problem solved_,' Cho thought. '_Am no longer going stag_.'

-555-

_Now, please Review luvs:) Again, sorry for the delay._


	6. Ch 6: Surprise!

**Disclaimer**: Characters are not mine; I'm just borrowing them from Miss J.K. Rowling. No copyright or trademark infringement intended.

**A/N**: Thanks to all my kind-hearted reviewers. I WANT TO HUG YOU ALL FOR BEARING WITH ME.

Kat – Glad you like it.

AudenAnnalia - More 'hints' are pouring in this chapter!

Elektra05 – Thanks for the support! You've been there since the v. beginning. Do bear with me. I'll try to update more often. :)

Earendil-DMCC – Yay! Go DM/CC shippers!

theravenclawquill – Love your plot. And am amazed by the speed of your updates!

Here are the reasons for my uber late update:

1. School sht. I just had my exams. Those were the last in my college life, if I passed them all. (I am set to graduate with a degree in Journalism in March, so yay!) Also, I had tons of essays to write.

2. Emotional sht. I am a Cho Chang with my own Harry Potter, if you get my drift.

3. Writer's block. Classic and always plausible.

4. I've been busy doing a DM/CC shipper's paradise, called The Menagerie where I will put artworks, lj icons, wallpapers, manips, and more importantly, a fan fiction archive. http/dmcc. for those who are interested. shameless plug It's still under construction so please understand.

Here goes. R&R luvs. ;)

* * *

**Chapter Six**

Cho Chang is no stranger to the uncertainty and sometimes cruelty of life. Surprises, which are either exciting or disappointing depending on the circumstances, are always life-changing in some way.

The first surprise of her life came when she was four. She saw her mother crying in their living room. She found out that her father, one of the celebrated Aurors of his time, was killed during a rescue mission.

Another surprise came when she was six. She had a nightmare late one night and went to look for her mother in the master's room. When the older Chang wasn't there, Cho went out and witnessed something little girls shouldn't be seeing. She found her mother kissing a man in their front porch.

On a lighter note, the best surprise she ever received was a letter with a Hogwarts crest, accepting her as a student in the coming academic year. She was going to become a witch, and she was so excited.

Just days ago, Terrence delivered another surprise. The invitation to the ball definitely wasn't expected. It was, however, a welcome surprise.

What she didn't know was that one week later, she was going to receive another surprise. In the form of a certain blond wizard.

-666-

The relief of finally having a decent date to the Ball carried Cho for the rest of the week. Once during breakfast, she looked over the Gryffindor table, and for a while, watched Harry and Ginny talking, before looking away, hurting like a dried up wound being slit again. She hasn't completely eradicated the hurt, but she was coping. Thanks to some of the people who kept her sane.

"Have you done your Arithmancy homework yet?" Marietta nudged her on the elbow, during an ordinary dragging History of Magic period.

"Umm… yeah, I just," she rummaged through her backpack and pulled out the unfinished write up. "Have not gotten around finishing it."

Marietta clucked her tongue as Cho started scribbling where she had left off. "You really need to pick yourself up, get over that jerk, because quite honestly, Cho, you're better off without him."

Feeling quite touchy about the subject, Cho quickly interjected, "I'm going with Terrence to the Ball, by the way."

"Interesting," the curly-haired Ravenclaw said. "I thought Malfoy was going to ask you out."

Cho stopped and gave Marietta a side-long glance. "And _why _did you think that?"

"He asked me if you were going with anyone," Marietta answered non-chalantly. Cho continued to stare at her like she was spitting blood.

Marietta sighed, "Well actually, Higgs asked me if you were going out with someone, but Draco was there, and, it pains me to say this, and he seemed quite interested."

Cho dropped her quill and turned to face Marietta with arms folded across her chest. "How so?"

"Women's intuition," Marietta gave her sly wink and, in an obvious attempt to change the conversation, pointed towards the board. "Listen."

"Rubbish," Cho rolled her eyes and without further questions, audible ones at least, continued doing her assignment.

-666-

Before dinner, Cho decided to tour the school for much-needed fresh air. Whenever she needed time to clear her head or just unwind, she always found this activity refreshing. After a few minutes, Cho found herself on the Hogwarts bridge (A/N: Imagine the Hogwarts bridge in the third and fourth HP movies) staring at the icy lake stretched out below.

As she leaned on the balustrades, her mind wandered off to her conversation with Marietta earlier. The whole "Draco seemed interested" matter bothered her. But in a good way. Then again, she dismissed the thoughts. After all, it was 'rubbish' as she previously said.

And there was Terrence. He has been ultimately brotherly for the past week. He always mentioned the ball whenever they talked. He asked about her costume so they can go coordinated, what color of flowers she liked, if she'd rather his long hair tied up or hung loose. In some bizarre, alternate universe, Cho thought, Terrence would have been a great boyfriend. Sadly, she just does not have romantic feelings for him.

"You're next Chang," a mysterious voice drawled as her eyes scanned the snow-laden mountaintops.

Her body froze. She slowly turned around, only to find Terrence and Draco snickering slyly as they saw the wash of panic over her face.

"That was horrible!" Her panic suddenly ousted by giddiness, Cho playfully and repeatedly hit Terrence on the shoulder. "What's wrong with you?" She demanded, giggling a bit. "I was bloody horrified."

"Ow! It wasn't me anyway, why're you giving me a bloody beating?" Terrence, with an amused and pained expression, clutched his arm protectively and moved slightly away from Cho.

"You arse," Cho narrowed her eyes on Malfoy. Feeling playful and a bit too casual, she gave him a small punch on the arm and grinned.

Despite the initial shock, he smirked and explained the cryptic message. "We're playing in two weeks. Better get your act together," he warned with a steely gaze. "Seriously, though, I think your futile attempt will be cause for embarrassment. Winning against you is going to be piss easy."

Terrence looked like he was going to say something, tell Malfoy off, perhaps, but a Slytherin girl came up and engaged him in a conversation.

"If you think I'm going to be intimidated by the likes of you then you're sorely mistaken," Cho huffed, returning the same airiness she got from him. She knew this was all for show. After all, Malfoy was not King of trash talk for nothing.

"Is that right," he walked a few inches towards her, closing the gap between them so that their bodies were almost touching.

Cho tensed up as Malfoy got closer and closer to her that her senses were working overtime. She could already make out the almost indiscernible freckles on his pale face. She recognized his all too familiar scent, a musky, soapy, mixture. But what caught her most was the way his eyes invited her into him. Deep pools of silver that were teasing, taunting. She tried to keep a straight face, but the obvious change in her rhythmic breathing betrayed her.

"Just as I thought," the pale blond decided with a sneer.

"Draco, we're off to the Great Hall," Terrence tapped Draco on the shoulder, furrowing his brows at the odd tableau Cho and him made.

Cho knew by the way Terrence furrowed his brows that he had sensed a different air between her and Draco, but he wisely kept it to himself. It was already too awkward.

"See you later," Terrence called as Draco tailed coolly behind him, a smirk still playing on his lips.

"Later Chang," Draco said.

"Yeah," Cho said, almost inaudibly, "Sure."

-666-

That night, when Cho was doing her nightly rounds on the third floor hall, she sensed a different smell permeating in the far end of the Charms hallway. She crept up the corner, unsure if it was just Peeves the Poltergeist mixing chemicals from the Potions chamber again, and found Draco sitting coolly on the floor, his elbows propped up on his folded knees. _Him again_, Cho thought.

"Oh, hi." Cho said tentatively as she walked up to him. Getting no reply, she observed him staring at the half empty wine bottle in front of him. Just when she was about to turn her heels and leave, Draco invited, "Join me."

Although she knew better, Cho obediently sat in front of him, carefully tucking her skirt underneath her legs. Draco appeared to be a little drunk, but it was quite dark and she couldn't discern his features as clearly, so she could be mistaken.

"Why donyou take a swig." His voice was a bit slurry. For some reason, Cho found it quite amusing to see Draco with his guard down and making inarticulate conversation. His hair wasn't as perfect as it always was on regular days. Several strands fell on his face, a few strands even tweaked out of the combed area. His face bore not a scowl, but a lethargic, almost too relaxed grin.

"No," she politely declined. "I'd prefer not."

"Come on. Jussa smo' one," he said with a dreamy sort of look in his eyes.

"No, I think we should head back, Filch is on the prowl" As Cho made an effort to stand up, Draco quickly seized her by the wrist and his intense eyes did the talking. Wordlessly, Cho settled herself back down, knowing fully that this could be the biggest mistake of her academic life. Getting caught drinking in school premises is equivalent to expulsion. And she's the flaming Head Girl!

Taking the firewhisky bottle by the neck, Cho reluctantly pursed her lips on the bottle opening and in a swift motion, allowed the liquid to course through her mouth and throat.

"I don't know why I listen to you," she said, sighing heavily as she handed him back the bottle and wiped her mouth on her sleeve.

"Let's just say I have that effect on women," he hiccupped and took a swig.

"I take it that this isn't the first time you've gone off beyond curfew with a bottle of firewhisky," she said with a curious smile. "Is there any particular reason why you are wandering off of sobriety?"

"Not really, aside from the fact that I'd like to get drunk e'ry once in a while," he replied then took another swig. "So, how's your wanker of a boyfriend Potter?"

"How's your skank of a girlfriend Parkinson?" She retorted.

"Touché," she smirked and motioned the bottle towards her. She took it and drank some. And maybe some more.

Conversation ensued. Cho didn't realize how much she had consumed in the past half hour, until she was suddenly loquacious and something utterly life-changing left her intoxicated mouth.

"You know Draco, I hate Harry and what he did to me," she said languidly, circling her fingertip on the bottle opening. It wasn't so much that Cho had just declared her loathing, or quite possibly utter abhorrence to the guy she has been jonessing over for the past months that was shocking, it was the fact that she actually addressed Draco by his first name.

"Can't say I'm not surprised," Draco said simply, drinking from the bottle for the nth time that evening.

She nodded and continued her rant. "I can't believe I dated that two-timing prat. You know, he's not all he's bleeding cut out to be. I mean," she paused, only to make sure he was still listening. "I mean, you're terribly underrated."

"Go on," Draco nodded at her to continue.

Cho laughed slightly at the mock seriousness in his face. "Well, I think you're a good seeker. And you seem pretty smart. And I guess you can be charming when you want to…"

Draco raised an eyebrow and mouthed, _charming?_

She should have stopped there, but the alcohol was doing things to her. Things that made her mind wander off to places she should have left to the recesses of her imagination. In a flash, she remembered that one time she saw Draco and Pansy making out in the common room. She remembered how his lips tugged at hers with fiery passion as if it was the last kiss of their lives.

"And you're…" Cho's gaze dropped to the floor as she hesitated. "A good kisser," she blurted out finally.

Draco's expression was priceless. It was a mixture of surprise, shock, and conceit all in one.

Suddenly hit with embarrassment, Cho quickly blurted out incoherent statements, "I mean I… just forget I said that. I mean, that was a speculation. I really wouldn't know for sure…"

And just when Cho thought the surprise part of the evening was over, Draco leaned forward and captured her lips in a soft, almost fleeting, kiss.

With a confident grin, like he had just caught the snitch under Harry Potter's nose, he said, "Now you do."

-666-

_Wheeee. Hope you liked. Pls R&R luvs. :)_


	7. Ch 7

**Disclaimer**: Characters are not mine; I'm just borrowing them from Miss J.K. Rowling. No copyright or trademark infringement intended.

A/N: See, I'm trying to be speedy with my updates. Go me! Haha. Thank you reviewers! I really appreciate your feedback.

Elektra05 – Thanks for the lovely review! The Ball is next so it's bound to get even more interesting. :)

Earendil-DMCC – I totally agree! More snogging is underway. You just have to wait a few more chapters. By the way, I'll be posting the link again soon. I had to make changes. But it'll be awesome, I promise.

Jen – Thank you!

Now R&R luvs.

**Chapter Seven**

_Whatever happened in the Charms Hallway, stays in the Charms Hallway. I knew I shoudn't have joined him. _

_Why in Merlin's name was I going on about how he snogged Parkinson! And oh my, what else could I have said? I hope I didn't tell him that I shagged Harry after we broke up. Draco (no wait, Malfoy, his name is MALFOY) might think I am some tramp like Parkinson! _

_Then again, who cares what that arrogant git thinks. _

"Chang," a voice called. "Cho. Hey."

As Terrence's figure came into focus, Cho shook herself from the trance and muttered, "Sorry. Umm… where were we?"

It was Friday, the day before the ball, and they were giving out last-minute reminders to the third and fourth year perfects who will be assisting the students in the Hogsmeade trick-or-treat scheduled in conjunction with the upperclassmen's Halloween dance. Or at least that was what Terrence was doing. Cho has been basically out of it for most of the meeting. Her mind was still very much occupied with last night's events.

_I am never going to get pissed again. Or at least in front of strange men. _

"Right," Cho began, scanning the faces of the eager prefects. "Have we talked about the liquor ban?" _Yeah, Cho, you need to be banned from Firewhisky._

"Excuse us," Terrence hastily grabbed her by the elbow and pushed her to a far area in the room to the murmurs and stares of some of the students.

"Have I said something?" Cho inquired worryingly.

"No and that's the bloody problem," Terrence whispered fiercely, his face a picture of frustration. "You haven't spoken a word in this meeting since we started. And we have already discussed the liquor ban. You sure you're all right?"

"I'm just, umm," Cho lied, sighing heavily for effect, "feeling a bit queasy, that's all."

"Well, just try to give a little input, ok?" Terrence encouraged. "Pretend you actually care."

"Sorry. I promise I'll participate." Cho said determinedly, following him back to the reception area. _No more thoughts about Malfoy! _She scolded herself. After all, why was she even worked up over that great prat.

But suddenly, "Draco?" The name left her mouth before she could have prevented it. _Fuuuuuuuuck._ _What the hell is he doing here?_

As Draco entered the room, several of the young prefects started whispering to each other. Cho hated the reputation he had. The way he always caught everybodys attention, especially hers. She was not ready to see him, especially after she ran off like a girl last night.

"Chang." He said, a little smirk playing on his lips. "Higgs." He bobbed his head at Terrence.

"You're not supposed to be here," Cho blurted out, her voice wavering slightly. She knew it was only a matter of time that they'd cross paths once more. She hasn't exactly 'recovered' even after successfully dodging him all day long.

Terrence shot her a look. "It's fine Cho, he's a prefect. It's his business too."

"Well, you heard that, Chang." Draco said confidently as he seized a Hufflepuff boy by the collar and plucked him out of the red leather seat. "Off you go," he told the boy and plopped down. The Hufflepuff nodded obediently and moved to an empty seat beside one of his housemates.

Cho shook her head in disapproval. "Malfoy, carry on with your crude behaviour and I'm taking away house points."

"There'll be no need for that," Draco said, putting his feet up above the coffee table, knocking over a couple of books as he did so. "Is there any reason why you're on edge?" His eyes glinted maliciously.

Her breath caught in her throat as his eyes bore into her. She knew for sure that he came only to spite her, especially after their encounter last night. It was worth an attempt, but the more she tried to ignore the suggestive, teasing eyes staring right at her, the more she came for more.

But Cho was different now. Desite her naivete, she knew the first rule of competition is never let your opponent sense your fear. She was not going to let him have the satisfaction of knowing he had affected her that way.

"So," Ignoring Malfoy's question completely, Cho clapped her hands over-enthusiastically, smiling widely at the prefects. "Are there any volunteers to chaperone the students from Hogwarts to Hogsmeade?"

-777-

As the prefects filed out of the common room, Terrence excused himself to go to the bathroom. This left Cho and Draco in the common room. Alone. Silent. And most of all, awkward. For a while, the pair stared at each other in silence; both refusing to blink or even speak. They didn't even notice that Terrence was back and was curiously observing one then the other.

Cho breathed steadily as she fixed her gaze on Malfoy's face. _Anywhere but his eyes,_ Cho thought. Her eyes traversed the creamy skin of his cheeks down to his pink lips, those lips that she tasted last night in a second of pure ecstasy. She couldn't remember quite clearly how it all happened or how he tasted, or how his lips felt on hers, all she knew was for that moment, she felt deliciously validated.

Cho thought she was doing a rather good job of maintaining her focus. _Ha! I'm not affected._

But when Draco licked his lips ever so slowly, like it was meant for show, Cho's knees wobbled like noodles. "Why are we having a bloody staring contest?" She raised her hands frustratingly in surrender, angry at herself for cracking but more at him for being such a bloody tease. She stalked off to her room and locked herself for the rest of the night.

-777-

Cho entered the Great Hall tightening the belt of her robes to protect her fragile frame from the unforgiving winds unshering winter. She did not sleep well last night and the morning chill did not at all help to wake her senses up. Worse of all, the first person she bumped into on the way to breakfast was the pug-faced, stick insect Pansy Parkinson.

Needless to say, Cho was in a foul mood.

When she got to her usual spot on the table, Marietta and Padma were nowhere to be found. Padma, who has this day all planned out since last week, was probably curling her hair or waxing her legs. It was all part of her beautification process before the Ball. Cho, however, doubted Padma would follow her schedule to the dot. Padma's 3:00-5:00 beauty sleep would probably be turned into something that greatly resembled Cho's entire night—when she tumbled endlessly, sheets tying a knot on her waist as she tried to find the right bed position that would allow her to fall into a dreamless sleep—because of anxiety and anticipation.

On the other hand, she had no idea where Marietta was.

After a few minutes of a silent meal, Cho saw Marietta sauntering over to her from the far-end of the table.

"I was with Zach," Marietta explained cheerily as she slipped onto the empty seat next to Cho.

_Eww._

"So how are you?" the curly blonde asked with a grin.

"Oh you know, the usual. I'm sleep-deprived, Harry's bloody snogging Weasley right now, my juice is flavorless, I kissed Malfoy, I'm nervous about the Ball…" Cho sighed heavily, blowing a few bread crumbs off her plate.

"You kissed Malfoy?"

Marietta's scandalous reaction caught the attention of the nearby Ravenclaws, who were now staring at them. Cho hid her face behind her curtain of long black hair and mumbled, "Louder, you. The people of Asia didn't hear."

"What the hell are you bloody looking at?" Marietta threateningly eyed the fourth years who were all listening intently. They all looked away, but Cho was positive they were straining their ears just to hear their conversation. If she wasn't mistaken she saw in the corner of her eyes a couple of Extendable Ears being pulled out of backpacks.

"Don't even try to downplay this one Cho," Marietta turned to Cho, pointing at her with a fork.

"I'm not," she replied defensively.

"Yeah, you slipped it in there so casually between the part about the flavorless juice and the bloody Halloween Ball that I almost didn't notice," Marietta rolled her eyes, but her tone quickly shifted to concern as Cho sighed heavily. "Are you alright?"

"So you think I'm nutters now?" Cho looked up from her plate, feeling indignant with the way Marietta responded to her revelation. "Just because I kissed quite possibly the biggest arse Hogwarts has even seen, doesn't mean I'm emotionally unstable."

"You know I didn't mean it that way," Marietta said in a low voice.

And so Cho narrated the very unlikely incident, feeling every urge to edit several details but ended up telling the whole truth anyway, including the fact that they were both in an altered state of sobriety when the 'snog' encounter occurred. But Marietta couldn't care less. A kiss is still a kiss.

"Well, well, well," Marietta glanced behind her at the Slytherin's table where Malfoy was reading a small black book. "I was right. The git IS interested."

"He can't be." That wasn't really how Cho wanted to respond.

"And why the hell not?" Marietta demanded, forking a sausage into her mouth.

"Because, he's…" Cho looked down on her lap and shrugged. "He's flaming Malfoy!"

"Which makes it all the more bloody marvelous!"

Cho could've sworn Marietta glimpsed at Harry when she said that. By the looks of it, Marietta the all-knowing seems to have already envisaged how the last school dance of their lives will turn out.

-777-

_Please R&R before you proceed. Please, please, please. I'd like to know what you think on how the story is progressing. Btw, the Ball is next _


	8. Ch 8: The Ball

**Disclaimer**: Not again.

**A/N**: R&R please luvs. ;)

-888-

Cho felt better after talking to Marietta. It was quite refereshing to hear Marietta's evil plans of revenge on the people who has cause Cho misery over the past months. Cho, however, would never really want anybody "accidentally" dousing Harry with pumpkin juice or Pansy Parkinson being attacked by a pack of spiders. Marietta's unyielding support (by way of bad-mouthing Cho's enemies in every possible way) was just a timely emotional aid.

But Cho was not as concerned about Harry or Pansy as she was now with a certain blond wizard.

As she soaked her tense body in a hot bath, she pondered the contradiction that is Draco Malfoy.

He was the biggest, most obnoxious, egotistical little prat that walked the face of the planet. But at times, his actions are rather acceptable, if not humane. Take that one time in Hogsmeade when he hugged her just as she desperately needed comfort. Although he always mentioned Harry as a wanker, he always followed through with encouragement to get over him. He always meant well, even if his words betray him.

This is why one moment she likes him and the other she loathes him. He was such a walking contradiction. A complex specie to ponder.

As she scrubbed her arms with the squeegee in a circular pace, she realized that what she was scared of was slowly coming true.

She was starting to like him.

-888-

The dimly-litted Great Hall was already jam packed when Cho and Terrence arrived arm in arm. It was unlike she had ever seen it before. The walls of the Hall were covered in a black with silver glitters that provided for a subtle glow. Just like in the Yule Ball, the long tables were replaced by circular tables,with pumpkin lanterns levitating in the center, that seated about a dozen students each.

As Cho had anticipated, most of the females were in either faerie or princess costumes. Most of the guys, meanwhile, were sporting Quidditch uniforms of their favorite teams. Cho immediately spotted the costumes that stood out from the crowd. A lobster. A leprechaun. A pumpkin. And a bumblebee, who Cho was positive was Eloise Midgen. She had previosuly seen her fitting that costume in Charisma's Costumes and Craftwork.

"I'll go look for Marietta, alright?"

"Sure. I'll go talk to Perry Clearwater. Ask him how the trick-or-treat went on."

As Cho walked towards the stage, she spotted Draco by the refreshments table talking to Marcus Flint. He looked so gorgeous that Cho couldn't help but stare. She didn't even notice that he wasn't in a costume.

Draco was in the middle of what looked like a funny anecdote when his eye caught sight of her. He raised his glass toward her and eyed her meaningfully for a few seconds before he went back to his conversation.

She smiled and went over to check out the hors d'ourves, making sure that Draco was still in sight or she was still in _his _sight.

After a few more seconds of conversation, Draco clapped Marcus' arm in valediction and came over.

"Ooh, I thought you'd be going as an arrogant prat," she said in mock astonishment as he strode towards her with that confident walk of his.

Malfoy was about to interject when Cho found herself babbling confidently, "Oh, right. If you did, then you'd just be going as yourself. So good choice." She gave him a little nudge on the ribs and smiled. _OMG. I'm flirting with him._

Malfoy's lips curled in amusement. "Nice touch, Chang. How long did it take for you to formulate that one? I suppose Higgs had a hand in that." He emptied his glass of mulled mead and placed it on the table.

Cho folded her arms across her chest, frantically racking her brain for a snappy comeback. Nothing came so she admitted defeat. "Fine," she resigned. "What are you supposed to be anyway?"

"A handsome school boy," he replied with a sneer. "Who knew these freaks were actually taking the costume thing seriously."

In the corner of her eye, she spotted Padma and Marietta, both of which she almost didn't recognize, beckoning her toward them. She motioned a hand and mouthed, "I'll be right over."

"I'll see you later," she smiled, her eyes holding his for a few brief seconds, telling him that she really meant to see him again before she turned on her heels and began walking to the direction of her friends.

"I'm not gonna lie, though," he said from her back. She stopped dead at her tracks, intrigued.

And then, he hunched over her shoulder and whispered in a low voice."You look fucking beautiful."

Cho felt herself flush at the compliment. She turned around and peered at him coyly from under her lashes and without a word or any further consideration threw her arms around his neck and pressed her lips eagerly onto his as if she had been waiting to do this all day.

Draco immediately relaxed into the kiss and held her face gently in his hands as he tilted his head slightly, allowing better access to tongue and teeth. This time, Cho's mind wasn't blurred. She felt it. The way his soft lips sucked hers in rhythmic pace. The way his tongue delicately tasted her mouth. She felt all of it in those five hedonistic seconds.

She pulled away and inhaled sharply to catch her breath. Draco was staring down at her, silver eyes full of fire and want.

Cho grinned, wiping off a bit of her lip gloss on the side of his lips. "I'll see you later."

She didn't wait for his reply. All Cho knew that they were probably was sharing the same feelings as she strode over her friends' table. Her legs seem to be lighter, she was almost gliding.

"How's everyone," she beamed at her friends and their dates, who were all seated on a table by the stage.

Padma, who was looking very sparkly in a hot pink faerie costume, was with Seamus Finnegan. He was the leprechaun she saw earlier.

"Awesome," Seamus replied.

Marietta, meanwhile, looked stunning in a long, periwinkle blue chiffon gown with her curly blonde mane straightened so that it was sleek and shiny and framed her oval face beautifully. Beside her was Zacharias Smith, in a Chudley Cannons uniform, looked very smug as per usual.

"You look amazing in that dress," Marietta said.

"Oh this little thing?" she lifted some gathered fabric on her skirt and allowed it to flow smoothly back to place. "Let me guess, you are a veela…"

"Well spotted," Marietta giggled unconsciously, her hand relaxing on Smith's leg. Cho felt the urge to gag.

"Are you with Malfoy?" Smith asked non-chalantly.

"No, actually," Cho said. "I'm with Higgs. Terrence Higgs from Slytherin."

"You mean the Head Boy and Head Girl are going with each other?" Smith said with a odd tone in his laugh. He looked like he was pitying her.

"Yeah, I do believe that's the case." Cho replied simply, her bliss suddenly evaporating. She stared at him icily, silently wishing that he would keel over and die so he could spare her of his sordid analysis. He has been such an arse since their Dumbledore's Army (DA) days, contradicting anything that Harry said or suggested. Speak of the devil, where was that little bastard?

"Are you not joining us?" Padma said, gesturing to an empty seat.

"No, I think I'm going to go look for my date, the _Head Boy_," she said, glancing at Smith in the corner of her eyes before she bade them goodbye and looked for Terrence.

-888-

Cho went out the Hall to look for Terrence when he instead spotted Harry sodding Potter.

"You look fantastic." Harry said almost breathlessly as his emerald eyes took full appreciation of her.

"Thanks." Cho replied, surprised with herself that Harry's words almost felt like… nothing.

"Would you join me for a dance?"

"What are you playing at?" Cho demanded.

"Well," he shrugged. "It's just a dance."

"No it's not just a dance Harry. It's this bloody game you've playing," Cho jabbed a finger to his chest.

Harry was speechless.

"Every damn time that I feel that I'm finally ok, that I've finally forgotten about you, you suddenly come back. And when I start needing you again, you flee. I don't need you anymore. You've fucked me over a thousand times and I'm not taking any more of this shit," she crossed her arms on her chest, looking at him with ner narrow eyes bursting with anger.

"Oh fuck me that hurt," Draco appeared from nowhere and clapped Harry's shoulder as he passed him.

Harry looked enraged by the very sight of Draco.

"You've gone bloody mad Cho if you ever date that… that bastard."

Draco played it cool as he rested his hand on the small of Cho's back. "Smartest thing she's ever done since leaving you, if you ask me."

"Let's go," Cho looked up at Draco and he nodded.

As she walked past the stunned Gryffindor, with his arch nemesis by her side, she flashed Harry the mother of all smirks, one that would humble even Draco, and for once tasted oh-so-sweet revenge.

-888-

_Whew! That was a tough chapter to write. Please let me know what you think. I need your reviews so that I know if the story is worth reading or not and if I should carry on or close shop. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoy writing it. Now R&R luvs. ;)_


	9. Ch 9: Jealousy here and there

**Chapter Nine: Jealousy here and there**

**Disclaimer: **Hail Miss Rowling! She made the Potterverse! worship 

A/N: I apologize for my carelessness. Anyway, I described Cho's outfit in this chapter, so, ermm, I hope it'll make up for my booboo. Thanks to all who reviewed. I am so thrilled to see your feedback. It really inspires me to write more. :)

Earendil-DMCC – I know Harry's the Wonder boy and all, but let's face it, he needs a lot of help in the love department. I just played up his weakness and turned him into a lying, cheating bastard. I think we've all met a good guy who turned out to be an arse. (I know I have.) Btw, I like your term. Choco, I mean. Thanks for the review.

Elektra05 – Thank you, thank you, thank you. The Harry situation is surely going to a be a thing of the past. I still don't know what to do with Terrence, though. But you're giving me ideas. :)

Natalie – Thanks for pointing out the costume thing. I don't know why I forgot to include it. scratches head

kat – Thank you for the love. :) Also, thanks for mentioning the costume thing. I'll try to be more careful.

AudenAnnalia – Am so glad you checked back! And no, I will never stop writing. (Especially because I'm majoring in Journalism. ) Enjoy more of the fic. I always appreciate your feedback.

_R&R luvs._

-999-

Cho and Draco walked back the Great Hall in silence. There wasn't much to say, really. The previous encounter was awkward beyond measure for reasons that do not need further explanations.

Finally telling Harry how she felt exactly was like having a heavy load lifted from her back, a thorn being plucked out of her skin. She felt unburdened and validated. Harry deserved every spiteful word he heard from her after all the lies. But Cho still very much furious, livid, fuming, marching to the Hall in a rapid pace. (Draco was struggling to keep up.)

_God, I hate him! That stupid two-timing bastard just fucking irritates me at times. Uuuuugh. The nerve of that great prat._ However, those weren't thoughts. She was unknowingly saying them out loud.

"Easy there, Tiger," Draco said as he quickened his usually relaxed stride.

"It's just that I'm so fucking tired of…" Cho seethed, but was quickly interrupted.

"Cho, Cho, Cho," Draco stopped dead at his tracks, clutching his heart. "I am appalled at your choice of language."

Cho stared at him in disbelief, her emotions torn between amusement and frustration. She crossed her arms on her chest as he continued his little charade.

He walked slowly toward her and said in dramatic fashion, "I am aghast, short to say, horrified that those beautiful lips of yours, that, uh, pure, virginal mouth (at this Cho snorted) is tainted by such impure expressions of hatred."

More exaggerated facial expressions later and Cho was grinning so broadly like all her anger quickly dissolved. "Ha ha," she made a face at him.

"Judging by your reaction, you were right," Draco inserted his arms in his pockets and shrugged as she faced her, "I can be charming when I want to."

"I think," she slowly linked her arms around his neck, "you're just softening up."

Draco looked positively alarmed. He wasn't the kind of man who wanted to hear these things. For a second, they just stared at each other speechless, before Draco spoke with an empty expression in his eyes, "I'm quite callous, you do know that."

"Fine, fine. You're still that cold-hearted, arrogant…" She counted the qualities in her fingers.

"You can stop," Draco hinted threateningly, but Cho decided to carry on.

"Conceited, selfish, ego-centric, megalomaniac, sexually perverted…"

"Oy!" Draco seized the hand which had two fingers up. "Where did _that_ come from?"

"Don't be so affected," Cho laughed, tilting her head slightly the way girls do when they want to look cute.

Draco shook her head at her, took her hand, and led her back to where the party was.

As he did so, Cho realized how surreal this very situation was. Actually, she realized how surreal this night has been and it hasn't even hit midnight yet. She never imagined that she'd be this infatuated (this is NOTHING MORE, Cho told herself) with Draco. Not that he wasn't attractive or anything of the sort. Merlin, he probably was one of the sexiest boys in the school! It was only quite recently that she first looked at him meaningfully enough to notice that his grey eyes weren't cold or blank, but deep and captivating. His features were a lot softer now, though still very much intimidatingly regal. His body though hidden under clothing (black-coloured mostly) was obviously toned by years and years of Quidditch. And an almost invisible, light-coloured scruff on his chin said he was a boy no more.

To her, he used to be that pointy faced fellow who set out a snake in the Dueling Club. He used to be that white blonde Slytherin who strutted the school with two fat cronies like he owned the place. He used to be the guy who smoked his lungs out everywhere he went and never got caught. He used to be the guy who had that sneer, that menacing smirk that put off a lot of people, but intrigued a lot of girls.

It was different now, whether Cho chose to accept it or not. She just feared that _different_ is not always good.

-999-

"Terrence! Over here!" Cho waved her free hand frantically as she spotted her supposed date snaking out of the crowd of gyrating students. By the time that she and Draco got inside, the Great Hall was drastically dimmed to compliment that succession of colourful light beams that were emitted from the ceiling as the Weird Sisters took the stage.

"All right there, guv?" Draco greeted, discreetly letting go of Cho's hand when Terrence got to them.

"Malfoy," Terrence acknowledged running a hand on his messy, medium-length mane, then turned to Cho worryingly. "I've been looking for you. Where were you?"

"I was out there, doing the same thing. Then, I spotted Draco," Cho explained, leaving out several details. "What have you got there?"

Terrence presented her a corsage. He took her hand and gingerly tied the circlet of white flowers on her wrist. "I just thought since I asked you to be my date, I should play the part. Do you like it?"

"I love it!" Cho exclaimed as she flung her arms around Terrence' neck in excitement. When she let go, she said, "I hope you don't mind but Draco here wants to…"

He was gone. Cho looked sideways, craned her neck (though it didn't help much because she was short) and could not spot the stand-offish white blonde head. _Where the hell was he off to?_

"He left. What did he want?"

"Oh never mind," Cho said dismissively, glancing disappointedly at the spot he left.

Couples flooded the dance floor as the Weird Sisters played one of their more popular love songs.

Terrence took her hand, twirled her around unexpectedly and jerked his head toward the dance floor, "Dance with me."

Cho nodded, dismissing any further thoughts of Draco, for the time being, at least.

They settled on a spot by the condiments table, where they had enough room to move and breathe. They stood in front of each other and after a few awkward moments, Terrence slipped an arm around her waist, but he didn't go all the way, he simply rested his hand on the small of her back. Cho placed her hands on his shoulder and their bodies moved in a slow, rhythmic pace.

She avoided looking at him in the eyes, while he made sure he didn't get too close to her that one person could actually stand between them. Truth be told, they were both embarrassed to be in such a situation. Good thing they ended up just laughing about it. And after that, it was much easier to bear.

As Cho pressed her cheek on Terrence's shoulder, she spotted the scene that could potentially ruin her night. Draco and Parkinson were dancing, cheek to cheek. She was quite tall so the could do that. Cho barely reached his shoulders. But that was not the point. _What is Draco playing at dancing with that tart. They've broken up for Merlin's sake!_

She inhaled a sharp breath as she watched Pansy stroking the hairs on the back of his neck. Pangs of jealousy were starting to attack her concentration. Suddenly, she just wants to leap at Parkinson and rip her head off. She was wearing a little lacy lingerie outfit, by the way, like a common prostitute.

Cho wanted to kick herself for forgetting to issue a dress code for the party. Compared with the red, silk cheongsam she wore, Pansy's dress look like it was selected by a pair of blindfolded eyes. Just utterly nasty. Parkinson looked even sluttier than Giullia Juppe, the foreign exchange student from France also known as Crabbe's date, who dressed up as a French maid, complete with fire engine red lips and black feather duster.

After a few painful seconds, she decided to look away. She could not understand why the rush of emotion was so great. But she didn't think on it anymore. Plus, she didn't want to risk being caught staring at them anyway. A couple of slow tunes more and the fast songs came up. Cho opted to sit it out, while Terrence moshed.

"Can I have a word with you, Cho?" came Draco's familiar voice from behind her.

"Sure," she slid out of her seat and followed Draco to a spot where there was less activity going on. He was about to speak when Pansy Parkinson came from behind him and interjected, "Well if it isn't the treacherous skank from China."

"This isn't tarts and vicars, Parkinson. You've gone to the wrong party," Cho replied coolly, surprised at herself for thinking of such a snappy comeback. Maybe a bit of Draco has rubbed on her.

Draco started to chuckle, but quickly turned it into a cough. Aghast, Pansy glared at him.

"What else do you want? I danced with you, isn't that enough?" Draco said exasperatedly, but without a hint of expression in his face, which made it all the more irritating for Parkinson.

"Don't talk to me like that," Parkinson warned.

"Make bloody sure you stay a good ten-meter radius from me then," Draco replied and pulled Cho away from the deranged piece of filth that was Pansy Parkinson.

-999-

_A couple of sleepless nights did the trick. It's only been four days since I uploaded the two chappies. claps hands wildly Now, why don't ya click that pretty review button and gimme a pat on the back, eh? ;) p.s. This is mad! The Ball isn't over yet._


	10. Ch 10: Sunday morning

**Chapter Ten: Sunday morning**

**Disclaimer: **Hail Miss Rowling! She made the Potterverse! (.worship.)

A/N: Thank you loyal readers and reviewers. :) Even if some of you guys don't review (hint hint ), my story stats reveal that you read the story and that's reward enough for me. Thanks luvs!

A few explanantions before I proceed. My sister has been berating me for making Pansy such a slut. I can't help it. Pansy just screams neurotic, jealous, slutty, ex-girlfriend to me. Sorry guys.

Shar – You reviewed:D I luuuuurve you! Happy birthday! ;) This one's for you, dear. Hope you like.

AudenAnnalia – You're awesome too, girl!

Cho-Wood – You checked back. Yay! Thanks. RR again, yeah:)

EarendilDMCC – Yeah, they're f. buddies. Draco, like any other man, has his needs. But now that he's got Cho... ;) God, I love this pairing!

jen – That's my biggest problem—keeping Draco in-character. Uuugh. I'll try.

ffe – Thank you for the encouragement. Please keep on reading :)

_Here ya go. R&R luvs. ;)_

* * *

Cho felt a frantic rush of adrenaline course through her body as Draco delicately brought her arms around his neck, his eyes never leaving her face as though he was trying to memorize each slope, freckle, mole, line… She felt the warmth rise to her face and instantly she knew her cheeks were tinged pink from the outpour of attention. He confidently circled an arm all the way around her back, pulling her closer to him, while the other hand clasped hers and led her to a slow, steady cadence.

Against the backdrop of curious couples stealing glances at them, their bodies moved in unison. Cho's eyes scanned the place surreptitiously, only to hint at the prying eyes that she did not appreciate their attention; she wanted Draco's, only Draco's.

Her hand soothed the back of his neck, gently tugging at the fine hairs on his nape, while her lips deliberately grazed the creamy skin on his neck. She heard a soft moan escape his mouth and felt rewarded from the response. Draco's hand that was firmly planted on the side of her hips traversed the path of silky clothing to the small of her back, upward then down again, and back at her waist. Cho smiled dreamily against his shoulder as his touch triggered so many wonderful emotions.

She slid her hands on his hips, inserting her thumbs on the belt loops of his trousers and pulling him closer as though it was still remotely possible. Draco obediently advanced, his hips slightly bucking against hers. They shared a knowing smile. Then, their bodies continued to move rhythmically as one. One reveling in the touch of the other. Never in her life had she felt so… aroused by a man's touch. She was suddenly getting all sorts of ideas in varying degrees of naughtiness and indecency. She looked up at him and found his grey eyes filled with a look that she can only associate with lust. She felt a building anticipation in her stomach, her knees almost giving way.

But neither made any further insinuations that they want the other on _that_ level. Blame it on their self-control. Or probably it was just pride. After the slow number, Cho was taken back by her date Terrence, who had to resolve a little problem (a couple of Slytherin boyw were having a bit of a scuffle), while Draco disappeared for the rest of the night.

As they lay awake in their separate bunks, both beside themselves for being such a bloody tease, the rest of the Hogwarts population slept soundly.

-101010-

As Cho walked down the Great Hall the next morning, she had replayed the dance with Draco in her mind for the thousandth time, but still could not understand why they did not end up… in a room. By far, it was the damn sexiest bit of foreplay in her entire sodding life and it was a shame they did not follow it up with mad, mad sex. Only when she descended the last flight of stairs that she realized the smile that was plastered on her face.

There was something different about the atmosphere in the Hall that morning. Cho was welcomed by the sounds of great and excited chattering. Everybody seemed to have a fantastic anecdote to tell on how their nights went on. Everybody seemed to want to kiss and tell. Marietta was no different.

"Yeah, we did it," Marietta told Padma without a blink of an eye. Her friends giggled uncontrollably, only then noticing her presence.

"Great. That makes one of us," Cho swung her legs over the bench and smiled sheepishly at Marietta as plopped down.

"You mean you didn't do it with Malfoy?" Padma asked, after which her hands quickly flung to her mouth.

Cho's eyes widened in shock. _Why do her friends always did this to her? _

"Sorry," Padma blushed furiously. "I didn't mean to blurt it out."

"Even louder next time, yeah?" Cho busied herself with stirring her coffee to a froth or else she would've leaped across the table and beat Padma to a pulp.

"I've seen the tension, Cho. I _really _thought you would…" Marietta indicated supportively, doing her annoying habit of pointing at her with a fork.

Cho shrugged non-commitally, allowing her eyes to scan the Slytherin table for Draco. No sign of him, though. Maybe he decided to sleep in. It was Sunday after all.

"It's fine. It's not like I'm so keen on jumping at him, please," Cho replied to Marietta and Padma's curious stares. _LIAR!_

Padma and Marietta went back to their dormitory to begin their homeworks (Oh please, the rumormongers!), while Cho returned to the Head Boy and Head Girl chamber to get her broom out for a spot of flying in the pitch. She had a match with no less than Draco in two weeks and she needed all the practice she can get.

Her spirits soared when she found him reclined on his favorite red couch in her dormitory. He and Terrence were chatting away mutedly about something that seemed quite important and confidential.

"Good morning," she smiled at them rather reluctantly as she took in the seriousness in their expressions. "Didn't see you two at breakfast." She said, feeling like she walked in on them on a bad time.

"Not hungry," Terrence replied simply, not meeting her eyes.

"Actually I'm starving," Draco stood up from the couch, his face a picture of relief as though Cho's presence had saved him from something visciously dramatic.

"I've got a couple pumpkin pasties," Cho offered hesitantly, jerking a thumb toward her room. He nodded in approval.

"Malfoy, I haven't quite finished what I wanted to say," Terrence said moodily. Cho was taken aback.

The tension-filled atmosphere only grew thicker when Malfoy spoke. "Well I am. So get off my bloody arse," he drawled angrily, turning his back on his captain with his billowing robes flowing behind him as he stalked towards her room.

With a final look at the contemplative Terrence, who was staring at his shoes, Cho followed the white-blonde boy inside. When she closed the oak doors behind her, she asked what the drama was about, "Okay. Explain what just happened."

"I'm not in the mood," Draco replied, running his fingers hastily through his hair and sighing loudly as he occupied the empty chair by her bedside.

"Oh come on," Cho pleaded. "Just a tiny hint."

"It's quite personal, if you don't mind," he replied, helping himself to one of the pumpkin pasties on her nightstand.

"Since when did you have anything _personal_ with Terrence?" Cho inquired, crossing her arms on her chest. "And why did you…?"

He cut her off. "I'm thrilled, really, but no interviews today. Maybe next time," he said airily, unwrapping one of the pasties and shoving them in his mouth.

"Fine," Cho said resignedly, laying flat on her stomach on her unmade bed, as he munched away silently. Although slightly annoyed, she found herself staring at him, watching him as he popped another pasty in his mouth. He was in an all black ensemble as per usual, his hair was slightly ruffled from where his fingers ran through it. She'd love to run her hands on his hair, feel his sexy scruff against her skin, lick the creamy skin of his neck…

After minutes of uncomfortable stillness Cho shook herself off the fantasy and asked, "Feeling better?"

"Peachy," he replied with a forced grin, chucking the wrappers on the waste bin.

"C'mere," she smiled attractively, placing a hand on his leg and batting her lashes slightly for effect.

He smirked amusingly at her, "Dream come true, yeah? To finally get me alone. I _knew_ it was only a matter of a time."

"You know what," Cho ejected her hand from his thigh, half sat on her bed, and crossed her arms on her chest. "You can leave for all I care you cheeky bastard."

"I'm not complaining, Chang. I quite like a girl who takes charge," he replied.

Cho giggled, gripped him by the sleeve of his black cotton jumper and pulled him on the bed beside her.

_Finally._

* * *

_Short, pointless chappie. Hope you R&R anyway, ;) CH 11: It's Slytherin-Ravenclaw in Quidditch. Check back, k? _


	11. Ch 11: A lose lose situation

**Chapter 11: A lose-lose situation**

**Disclaimer**: Hail JKR!

A/N: It's been how many days since I last updated. Sorry to keep you guys waiting. Btw, some lines were stolen from Bridget Jones! Bad me. And, thanks to Harry Potter Lexicon, I found out that I've been misspelling Terence's name. It's spelled with a single R. So, I'm going to correct that one from here on out.

hyperdee20 – yes, terence does like her, but she doesn't know it yet. Cho's too preoccupied with the yumness that is Draco Malfoy.

Earendil-DMCC – Maybe… ;)

gossamer Glow – awesome cho/oliver fic! If you ask me there are too little odd-pairing fics in this world.

swellkisses – Thanks!

jen – Here it is!

Elektra05 – You'll find out soon.

ChoWood – I appreciate the review!

_R&R luvs._

-111111-

Classes on Monday were extremely insignificant. The only thing Cho looked forward to while sitting sleepily in Arithmancy was Quidditch practice that evening and meeting up with Draco afterwards. As she sat slack jawed on her seat, doodling absent-mindedly on a clean sheet of parchment, she recalled her conversation with Draco yesterday after the inevitable shag.

"_So what happens at school?" Cho rolled over to her tummy, her arms flopping on Draco's waist as they lay on the comforts of her four-poster bed._

"_Well I'm glad you asked that, Cho. You see, there are old bats we call teachers who basically teach different subjects and we, the students, pretend they have an actual impact on our futures. It's utterly mad that we actually have to give them monetary compensation for wasting our precious youth, but that's basically how school works." He finished with a little smirk._

_Cho rolled her eyes and buried her face on her pillow. "I'm serious. What happens to us?" She lifted her head and gazed deeply into his grey eyes._

"_Us? It just started two days ago. Don't you think we're moving a little too fast?" Draco asked, his face refusing to give any sort of emotion._

"_Well…" Cho didn't know what to answer, so she just shrugged and kissed him briefly without further interrogation. She didn't want to waste a wonderful day by arguing, anyway. But her face was clearly washed with disappointment._

The question just sort of launched itself out of her throat. She sounded like an overprotective girlfriend when they didn't even have a relationship to speak of anyway. What scared her is the fact that she was really starting to like him and that he may not be in for the long haul. But he was right. It has only started. Unfortunately, patience is just not one of Cho's strongest traits.

As soon as classes were over, Cho immediately ran to the Ravenclaw locker areas to change into her training uniform. She was already five minutes late. When she reached the Ravenclaw changing room, Jerome Hannigan, the team's Keeper was already strapping up his boots. "Suit up, Cho and make it quick. Davies is livid."

"Yeah? Why?" Cho asked before muttering an Alohomora to open her locker.

"He had a run-in with Draco Malfoy and his goons who refused to leave the pitch. Those pie-faced newts."

"I hope that's sorted though," Cho said simply, while shrugging her robes off her arms and chucking it on the nearby bench. Draco being difficult is not news, but it was the first time that she felt let down by his actions. Maybe because she was starting to think like the _girlfriend_, which she wasn't yet.

After a while, the Ravenclaw Quidditch team assembled in the pitch where Roger was waiting. He looked groggy, his brown hair ruffled up like he had a rumble with somebody, but his face was a clear picture of determination. After the typical intro pleasantries, Davies instructed everyone to begin their training.

"Keepers, Chasers, do a couple of round-robin drills on passing. Beaters, Cho, fly a few laps around the pitch before I release the balls."

Doing as he instructed, Cho flew toward the skies as fast as she could, clutching to her broom tightly. After practicing sharp turns and steep dives, Roger released the Snitch and off she went to locate the fluttering ball of gold. She caught it in less than five minutes and immediately felt confident of her chances against—

Draco. _Oh my god._ For a while there, she actually forgot that she was playing him next week.

Clutching the fluttering ball of gold in her palms as Roger blew the whistle, Cho heaved a heavy sigh, knowing the next Quidditch match was bound to be interesting in more ways than one.

-111111-

Roger Davies was particularly twitchy the following week and everyone understood why. There was nothing that got to the Captain more than an upcoming match with Slytherin—the team with the dirtiest tactics. There was that fear that he and his teammates could be brought into the Hospital Wing in a matchbox, but there was a greater fear of succumbing to the opponent's slimy game. There was one instance that brought him to the edge… when he saw Cho and Draco walking hand in hand toward the Head Boy and Head Girl chamber one night. The only thought in his mind: His teammate was fraternizing—actually—canoodling with the enemy.

A confrontation consisting shouting ensued the next morning. Cho was furious that her Captain would actually think she'd surrender a match because she's playing her current shag. On the distaff side, Davies was furious that she had to pick Draco of all the boys in school and that she shouldn't be mingling with her rival days before the actual competition. Cho had a stinking suspicion that there were background reasons for this shouting match, like the fact that Davies used to be Cho's consistent suitor but he never got so far as one date.

"So what if I'm snogging Draco Malfoy? You don't give a damn what I do with my life, Davies!" Cho said crossly, her hands balled into fists.

"I'm your Captain for fuck's sake! We're playing Slytherin in a few days and I can't have you half-hearting the match because you're too madly in-love with Malfoy!" He replied venomously, each word dripping with bitterness.

"I'm not in-lo…" her words caught up in her throat. Was she really about to say that she wasn't in-love?

Roger huffed, crossing his arms on his chest with a smug look as Cho strung a statement together.

"Look, Davies. I don't need a lecture. I'll wing it, ok?" she answered, more calmly now.

"You'd better Chang or, Merlin help me I don't care if you're the best Seeker we've ever had, I'll take you off the team," he turned his heels and stalked off to the opposite direction.

-111111-

After that, Cho had avoided being seen with Draco in public, which she found unsurprisingly easy. Save for the occasional holding-hands-while-walking when they both did their nightly curfew rounds, they had kept a safe distance publicly.

It was ironic, she realized, that in the recent years she has been playing against her ex-flames. First Cedric, then Harry, and now Draco. It wasn't particularly difficult when she played with the previous boys. For some reason, she felt like playing and possibly beating Draco was a lose-lose situation for her part.

"What's wrong?" Draco asked as they sat cuddled on the rug, her back against his chest as they both sought warmth from the crackling flames.

"Nothing," Cho replied simply, squeezing the pillow she hugged to her chest.

He cupped her chin and lifted her face sidewards toward him. "Tell me."

"I'm just…" she hesitated, watching the light patterns from the fire dancing across his face. "nervous about the match."

The seriousness on his face was quickly replaced by a smug expression. "Don't worry, I'll be easy on you." He said in mock concern, kissing the top of her head.

Cho jerked away from him and pouted.

"I really do apologize if I kick your arse," he said. "…no matter how fond of it I am." He finished with a sly wink that was enough to soften her insides.

She gave him a smile that meant he was absolved from the gibe. After a dramatic pause, they both knew what was next.

He pushed a stray strand of hair away from her face and tucked it behind her ear. The slight tilt of her head was enough to cue him forward. Erasing the small distance between them, their lips melded in a fiery kiss. Cho instantly felt the familiar sensations coursing through her veins as she once more melted in his arms.

He was so gentle, so mellow. And this fact still surprised her even on the fourth time. She had expected him to be rough, a little too aggressive, to match his brusque reputation, but he stunned her with his gentle strokes, the way he took his time lavishing her every body part with love. It was always achingly slow, deliciously painful.

And those hands. His hands were skilled. They didn't fumble. The candlelike fingers knew exactly what to do and where to find the places that mattered.

She couldn't help but feel smug every time they did it. People think he's such an ass, but now that she knew the _real _Draco, the Draco behind closed doors, she felt like she had won the lottery. As Draco nuzzled sleepily on her neck, she felt so content, wondering what she did to deserve such a wonderful blessing.

-111111-

The day came. It was the chilliest Saturday morning in her entire life. Cho was sweating bullets as she strapped on her boots tightly and smoothened some of the twigs on her broom while she and the rest of the team waited to be introduced. Dark circles surrounded her eyes and her lips held no color from lack of sleep and nourishment. She had a couple of bites from the mushroom omelet during breakfast, but uknown to all, she hurled it out in the girl's lavatory before the game.

Her throat was steadily getting dry even though she just chugged from the communal water jug. Her hands were perspiring heavily inside her dragon-hyde gloves. She stared blankly at her gloved hands trying to drown out the buzzing in her ears from the sounds of murmurs and cheers from the stands.

She could hear the booming voice of the announcer calling Slytherin.

"Crabbe… Goyle… Zabini… Malfoy…"

A breath caught in her throat as she caught a glimpse of Draco showboating with a spectacular mid-air summersault. _Show off._ They haven't spoken a word to each other since the previous evening. It seemed like both of them needed the time apart to focus on the game. Cho never told Draco the grave consequence of losing the match to him, but she didn't think it necessary, anyway. _Que sera sera_.

"…and the team captain for Slytherin is Higgs." The announcer finished and the applause in the stands grew louder.

Roger stood up from his bench and clapped his hands to get everybody's attention. "Listen up."

Everybody crowded around the Captain.

"Slytherin is a bulky team, but whatever we lack in size, we make up for in speed," he nodded to Cho in particular. "I want you to catch the Snitch as quickly as possible. We don't need to rack up points for the House Cup. Whoever cares about that anyway?"

"Uh, the Gryffindors," Patrick Mullington offered boredly.

Everyone laughed. It was just what the team needed to ease up the tension. But Roger never felt Quidditch was a laughing matter.

"But we're Ravenclaw. We just want to win the Quidditch Cup for a bloody change. We're winging it even if it means defying history. This is the first Ravenclaw Champion team and I'm gonna bloody make sure this happens in my year, alright? Hands in."

Roger's emphatic speech just hit the right note. Cho placed her right hand on top of the pile and screamed 'Fight!' in unison with the team. Feeling a sudden jolt of confidence, she raised a fist up in the air. Who cares if she was playing Draco? She needs to win this and nothing can and should get in the way. _Or else I'll be sacked!_

As the usual pre-game pleasantries—rules, shaking of hands, releasing of snitch—commenced, Cho spotted one thing or person, for that matter, that could potentially turn her concentration into pieces. It was Draco, looking all suave and just downright sexy in the new Slytherin Quidditch uniform of black trousers and robes of a deep shade of green with fancy a silver serpent sillhouette on the sleeves.

"All right there, Cho…" Draco began, but she immediately cut him off; he was obviously teasing anyway.

"Shut up," Cho said with finality and sped to another direction, summoning all her strength to return her focus to the task at hand. _Now where is that bloody snitch?_

As the whistle blew, the keepers of both teams scrambled for possession of the Quaffle. Slytherin took it and after that Slytherin seemed to be scoring on end. After a while, Cho glanced at the scoreboard and saw a dismal 50-10 in favor of the opponent. Roger was working overtime and scored a quick basket after completing a steal, but was denied of his succeeding goal attempts.

For some time, Cho has been searching around the pitch fruitlessly, allowing herself a safe distance from Draco, but still keeping an eye on him in case he spotted the Snitch. After ducking a bludger sent by Goyle ("Thanks qu-waffle," she called out sarcastically), her spirits soared as she found the Snitch, fluttering noiselessly by the the tail of Vincent Crabbe's broom. Without hesitation, she made a dive for it, and within seconds Draco spotted her. He followed suit, but she was just far ahead. She glanced at him over her shoulder, gave him the mother of all smirks, (_Sorry Draco…_) and with a strong stretch enclosed the fluttering ball in her hand.

For a moment, Cho went immobile as the stands erupted with cheers and applause. She loved that sound. She loved that she gave her house something to be proud of. Streamers, flags, and other Ravenclaw paraphernalia were being waved, tossed and brandished as Cho lifted the Snitch in the air towards the bleachers, while the green-and-silvers slowly vacated the area.

With heads hung low, the Slytherin team flew toward the dugout amid Ravenclaw's euphoria. Cho followed Draco with her eyes, but he refused to meet her gaze and threw his broom angrily on the grassy path as he followed Terence in the dugout.

As Draco's back disappeared inside the green tent, Cho felt like this victory was a prelude to something she was about to lose.

-111111-

_What do you think guys? Conflict is just around the corner… and where is Terence's place in all this nonsense? Click the nice little Go button and review and I might just update sooner than you think. ;_


	12. Ch 12: Confusion galore

**Chapter 12: Confusion galore**

**Disclaimer**: JKR. JKR. JKR. Yes, she owns HP. I don't. Boohoo.

A/N: Bet ya didn't expect a quick update, yeah? I've always wanted to write a story using the epistolary format. I very much enjoyed writing this chapter, my favorite chapter so far. Hope you all like it too. Btw, my apologies for the inconsistent tenses in the previous chapter. I was so keen on uploading it that I forgot to re-read it for the last time.

Let me just take a moment to express my utmost gratitude to everyone who added me or the story in their alerts and favorites and to those who have reviewed and have shown their support: **SHARBAR!** **Earendil-DMCC, Elektra05, Cho-Wood, swellkisses, hyperdee20 aka ****.AwwLukTheSkyIsCryin., AudenAnnalia, artificial-sprite, jen, gossamer Glow, theravenclawquill, achrtelot, ffe, kat, Natalie, icytigergrrrl, sugarkisses10, BurpingBubbles,** **tai-for-you, dooki, nubianroyalty, hazeleyes…** You lot are beyond awesome! And you all are now COMPELLED to read my upcoming stories. Lol.

Before you all react, no, I'm not ending Out of the Blue (yet). I'm just so touched that some people actually take time to read my very first HP fiction. (The story just hit the 2000 mark!) So here's to all of you (yes you!). And to those who haven't clicked the pretty GO (Review) button, come on! Show a little love… ;) lol.

Now that's sorted, on to the story. As I always say, _R&R luvs._

* * *

It seemed like ages since the Ravenclaw common room last saw a celebration as such. Big portraits of the great Ravenclaws from time immemorial that lined the walls of the common room exchanged looks of deep regret as the frames that held them together threatened to give way from all the jiggling and jiving and the blasting sounds from the Wizarding Wireless network. The wizards to be thanked where Roger and Patrick, two boys from the House Team, who pulled some strings and threw a piss-up that had most of the Ravenclaws, or the cool crowd at least, drinking butterbeer and mulled mead all evening, much to the dismay of the lot who wanted to sleep. Everybody was on their feet, socializing, drinking, all in all feeling celebratory after the Quidditch match. By the looks of things, everybody was still hung-over from the Halloween Ball.

Throughout the night, Ravenclaws patted Cho on the back with congratulatory remarks of 'fine job' or 'awesome catch.' She was glad, at least, that she avenged her final game last season, when Ginny Weasley caught the Snitch right under her nose. _That bitch._

But the sweet taste of victory was doused with a bitter tang from defeating the man who had indubitably been the subject of her many a reverie, the core of her every teenage hormonal desire, the person she had devoted her affection to for the past week or so… Draco. She tried but couldn't get his look off her mind—the look of inexplicable frustration that was so discernible even as he hung his head low while exiting the pitch.

She was brought back to her senses when Roger thrusted another cup of mulled mead on her empty hand.

"All right, Cho?" he said, beaming at her like a drunk in helium as he balanced himself on the wall.

"Looks like you've had one too many drinks, Davies," Cho replied, taking away the cup on his hand.

"No, no, no, this is my first…" In inebriated fashion, Roger tugged the cup back, unwittingly splashing the contents down on Cho's front.

"Shit!" Cho said in surprise as mulled mead seeped through the cloth of her sweater, dousing her skin thoroughly.

"Oh fuck," Roger apologized as he studied the damage. "Sorry Cho, I'm gonna go find you a clean…"

"No never mind," she said ungraciously as she tried to fan her Quidditch robes dry, wincing at the odor that was now perceptibly her. "I'll just go back to my dormitory and freshen up."

"Do come back, yeah?"

"Sure." _Not._

She was glad to finally have a reason to slip out. The party was getting tired anyway and at least she could find Draco. She wanted to see if he was ok, if _they_ were ok.

If memory suited Cho right, it was his nightly duty to patrol the third floor corridors. So, she made a mad dash down the flight of stairs, stepping over the trick steps on her way down, and traversed the Charms corridor in search for him.

True enough, he was down the hall, standing on an area where the moonlight casted a pale blue glow on his head as he lit a cigarette. As she watched him take a first drag, her feet had planted itself firmly on the ground. She felt a bubbling sensation on the pit of her stomach, if anything, a sign of anxiety (or maybe it was just the drinks).

_Go on, you._ Her brain prodded her feet.

But they seemed to have a mind of its own. _No. I'd much rather stay here, thanks._

But before she could come to a decision, he spotted her, his face a wash of alarm, before he walked away to the adjacent direction away from her.

Puzzled, she called out, "Hey, it's me," and broke into a run, but realized much later that she couldn't catch up with someone who didn't want to be found. By the time she had reached the end of the hall, only the faint trace of grey smoke that swirled in circles from the lit cigarette he dropped remained of him. She looked down mournfully and expunged the stick with her shoe.

_He's avoiding me._

_**Excellent deduction, Scooby!**_

_Why?_

_**Beats me.**_

And the mental debate carried on until she reached her room. Of course, she did not expect him to be all sunshine and daisies immediately after the match, but why was he eluding her like that? Surely, he'll see this very childish and will come grovelling around the next morning. Or won't he?

She frowned, realizing she still did not know him fully to anticipate his tactics and predict his next moves. But it was what she wanted. She wanted to know him better. Hell, she wanted to talk. Not that the sex was not fantastic. It was bloody fantastic, for the record. There had been, well, no time to discuss things amid all the touching and kissing. _Oh Merlin this is bad!_

There was one thing certain though… She needed to talk to him. Soon.

She peeled the offending robes from her pale skin and subjected herself to a hot shower if only to momentarily rid her brain of the nagging thoughts before calling it a night.

-121212-

Cho did not have much luck the next day. He wouldn't look at her during mealtimes. Either he had looked very much absorbed by the food on his plate or his goons had cracked jokes and he'd be laughing along with them half-heartedly, as though politely tolerating the glaring stupidity.

She had hoped to catch him somewhere, anywhere. It was a Sunday, so he could literally be all over the place. On her way to the Great Hall from a trip to the library, she found him sitting alone on a bench in the couryard, looking quite riveted in a thick book, his face calm and his shoulder relaxed as a bright shade of red-orange spread like wire fire across the skies to signal sunset. The moment he lifted his gaze as she approached, she saw a flash of irritation evident in his eyes, and so wordlessly, she decided to walk away. Cho, in all honesty and frankness, had never been afraid of Draco. Intimidated perhaps, but never scared. At that time, though, she was. Very much.

By the time dinner came, Cho was in no mood to talk. As Marietta and Padma exhanged stories, absorbed in anecdotes about the boys in their lives, they never stopped to ask how Cho, tired and frustrated, was doing.

_So this is what a stalker feels like_. She thought as she tossed the pork strips around her plate. It's been days now since she had a proper meal. Anxiety attacks were antagonizing her every attmempt at nourishment.

Then, it came to her as she sank on the cushions of her bed after a long day of moping. She decided on the only fool-proof way to get her message across. Before she slept, she fished out a pencil in her drawer, produced a spare piece of parchment and quickly scribbled:

---

**Draco,**

**What's wrong? Why are you avoiding me? Please write soon.**

**Yours, Cho**

---

The next morning, Cho waited patiently and watched discreetly as the barrage of school owls came to deliver the letters, parcels, and other items to their respective recipients. After what seemed like eternity, the brown barn owl Cho had chosen to deliver the letter to Draco swooped in front of him, narrowly missing his glass of orange juice

Cursing as he lifted the parchment to check if his name was scribbled in front, he pulled the letter from the owl and quickly unfurled the parchment. After reading her short message, he pocketed the letter on his robes and met Cho's glance for a millisecond before retuning to his plate.

It wouldn't be accurate to conclude that Cho felt entirely better when he finally acknowledged her presence, but there was a momentary shot of relief when he did. That night, Cho had again waited patiently for a reply as she lay contemplatively on her bed.

_Perhaps Draco was not one to take defeat lightly. Then again, he should be over it by now. After all, this was not the first time that Slytherin lost to Ravenclaw anyway. _She bit back a smirk of resent as these came to mind.

Just then, she heard a low hoot from the window sill. A school barn owl was holding his leg up to her to which a letter was attached. It took her fumbling hands a long while to untie the knot (the owl, out of frustration, pecked the back of her head once). Finally, she took the letter, sent the owl off with a grateful pat, and unrolled the parchment. The letter read:

---

**Cho**

**I'd hate for you to think that I'm a sore loser or a moper or both. Given the circumstances, I'm sure you already do anyway. I saw you looking at me when I chucked my Firebolt on the ground. Yes, I still throw tantrums. No point in sugar-coating that little fact.**

**The problematic thing is: I HATE losing. And during that match, I utterly, incalculably screwed up. **

**So there. Don't write back. Don't even look at me if you can help it. I need time to sort things out.**

**Draco**

---

-121212-

"WHO THE BLOODY HELL DOES HE THINK HE IS?" Marietta was ballistic after reading the letter. This was the first time Cho had seen her best friend angry at Draco, the same boy he called a sex god with Merlin-sent abs. "He can't just blow you off like this just because you beat him in Quidditch!"

The three brought their breakfast to the dorm to discuss the situation at hand more openly.

"All because of a stupid game…" Padma thought ruefully, shaking her head in disgust as she scanned Draco's message again.

Cho knew, even without reading his letter, that Quidditch meant the world to Draco. As with Cho, it was not just some stupid game or a silly little hobby like knitting. It was a legitimate career path, a future if done right.

"You don't know him," Cho replied, studying the lines of her palm absent-mindedly just to avoid looking at her friends.

"Apparently, you don't either…" Marietta told her matter-of-factly, her voice firm and icy. "Listen to me, Cho. That letter is the saddest, lowest, most pathetic explanation I've ever heard from a boy. You're writing back and you're going to give that git a piece of your mind."

A few minutes of quiet composition later and Marietta produced a draft of Cho's supposed response. It read:

---

**Draco,**

**Well excuse me If I had to go ruin your life. I honestly don't think I deserve all the credit for your demise. You've done a pretty awesome job acting like a dickhead anyway. The letter you sent forced me to think that I made a mistake for allowing you to enter my life, you pathetic whiner.**

**Love (and your walking a fine line at this), Cho**

**P.S. Start apologizing you worthless twit. And your next letter better have the word 'sorry' in five different languages. Six, including Mandarin.**

---

Cho folded the piece of parchment and held it up poignantly, "I'm not sending this."

"And why the hell not?" Marietta demanded, looking as though her letter was the most politically correct mail ever written.

"Yeah, the bloody ponce started it…" said Padma, coming to Marietta's defense.

"First of all, will you two bloody stop the incessant name-calling," Cho drawled angrily, staring fiercely at her dumbfounded friends. Sure, she hated Draco for treating her that way, but hearing the insults hurled at him struck a nerve in her. She then opened the letter again and re-read some of the lines.

"I don't think he's a dickhead, a git, or a worthless twit," she pointed out. "And I may think Harry was a mistake, but not Draco…"

The room fell silent after that. Cho appeased the warmth that rose to her cheeks with a gulp of pumpkin juice. It took ages before anybody spoke again.

"Well sorry to pour this cold bucket of harsh reality on you," Marietta said sourly, gathering her things to leave. "But that right choice you call just chucked you. And here you are, trying to convince yourself that this is just a minor glitch. Wake up, Cho."

And with that, Marietta stalked toward the exit and disappeared behind the cold stone wall.

-121212-

For the rest of the day, Cho avoided speaking or even looking at Marietta. It had been particularly difficult because they shared a table in almost all their classes and sat beside each other during meal time. Padma, meanwhile, chose to sit with her Gryffindor sister during lunch and dinner, perhaps to show that she was not siding with anybody. But as students trooped back to their respective dorms after supper, she saw Padma and Marietta speaking in whispers as they ascended the flight of stairs to the West tower. A pang of resentment added to Cho's already bursting emotions.

She concluded that it was simply one of those days that nothing went right. But that was only to make light of the situation. A reality check would perhaps yield a result as such: her friends turned against her; her supposed relationship with Draco was over even before it officially started; and the world, as she knew it, was crashing and taking her down with it.

An outcast, a pariah. That's what she was.

But at least Terence had finally started talking to her again after a solid week. Merlin knows why; she didn't ask.

Still in a haze from the day's events, Cho, who had momentarily forgotten that they weren't in speaking terms, asked to borrow his Potions notes because she was far too busy problematizing her life during Snape's boring lecture.

"This isn't much, though," he said, looking at her for the first time in days as he pulled out his notebook from his black leather bag. "Just the gist of the lecture."

"I'm sure this'll suffice," she replied, glancing up at him with a small, tight smile, before muttering a short spell to duplicate the page where his notes were. "Thanks." She returned the leather-bound notebook.

"No problem," he said, only then noticing her sullen expression, from having been widowed by friends and a special friend. "Are you alright, Cho? You seem a bit distarught."

"Yeah, I'm just…" she sighed heavily, rolling the parchment on her hands. "It's been a long day…"

"Don't start crying though," he said in alarm, backing away from her with exaggerated steps and hand movements. "You know I don't do well in consoling."

She gave a hearty laugh, almost too glad to have found herself a friend when everybody has seemed to elude her. "Good night, Terence," she called out. _Now why couldn't she just fancy a nice boy like him._ She was about to enter her room, scolding herself for fleetings thought of Terence when said boy appeared on his doorway.

"By the way, Cho, I found a letter addressed to Draco while I was cleaning up this afternoon…"

_Oh shit. I must've dropped Marietta's draft this morning._

"Where is it?" Cho demanded, her face paling at the very thought of it turning up in the right, or wrong, hands.

"Don't worry," Terence said reassuringly.

_Ok good, it's with him._ She sighed in relief.

"I handed it to Draco when he came over a while ago."

"WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT?"

* * *

_Don't you just hate me for ending it like this? Not another cliffie! Lol. And Malfoy is such a baby. Hmmph._

_Review! Tell me what you think is going to happen next…_


	13. Ch 13: Damage

**Chapter 13: Damage**

Disclaimer: JKR owns HP.

A/N: Try as I might, I couldn't get this chappie up any sooner. I am blaming it on the fact that 13 is an unlucky digit. (sobs) Also, I've been soooooo addicted to Robert Pattinson that it's no longer healthy. (Anybody with me on this?) I absolutely luurve the Meet the Champions segment in the GoF DVD.

I am so sorry for being such an ungrateful bitch and not updating any sooner. To all my reviewers, y'all rock the casbah. Cho-wood, Serena Goodkey, .AwwLuktheSkyIsCryin., gossamer Glow, Elektra, Earendil-DMCC. I hope you guys don't hate me. (sobs more) Btw, does anybody here have an LJ account? Am looking for friends to add. :)

_R&R luvs… ;)_

* * *

_Nooooooooooooooooo!_

"Well it did say Draco Malfoy on the flap so I supposed you intended to give it to him. Would be a bit _pointless_ if I just left it there," Terence shrugged his shoulders, unwittingly causing more damage than he had already done.

It was one of those moments, not a rarity in this girl's life, that a cloud of impending doom had shadowed upon her. As all color departed Cho's face, her eyes fixed unbelievingly at Terence, who with a small confused smile was slowly approaching her, there was only one thing on her mind. She wanted to hit Terrence. Badly. She had never felt a desire so strong to lunge at the Head Boy and throw him from the top floor banisters.

"Speak to me," Terence said, planting his hands on her shoulders, shaking her limp arms to motion. "Say something."

"You…" she spoke slowly, quietly, watery eyes still transfixed on him. "just ended my life."

She couldn't careless if Terence thought she was being too dramatic. With a shove that sent him two steps backward, she left him dumbstruck behind her door to contemplate on the terror he had caused her.

_What the hell am I supposed to do now?_

Just when she thought the day could not possibly get worse, this scenario blows up in her face like a blast-ended skrewt's ooze. She paced her room uneasily, fearing the repercussions of Draco reading the letter. Any hope of them patching things up seems like a distant possibility at that point. _Damn Terence and his… ugh… nosiness._

Remembering the look he gave her when he revealed what he had done, Cho suddenly thought that Terence _might_ have done it on purpose. Not that she was accusing or anything. The way he looked at her as though he had anticipated everything seemed suspicious.

Back to the problem at hand. Did she really want to sit (or stand) there doing absolutely nothing? She glanced on her nightstand and saw a pencil and scrap piece of parchment lying temptingly there. The letter business, however, was fast getting tiring and all she wanted was to get a resolution and fast.

Her eyes were really watery, but no tears seem to want to roll down her cheeks. Every time she felt the urge to cry, she felt deep seething anger, and it seemed to dry the well in her eyes.

At half past midnight, Cho was curled up on her bed, under the comforts of her wool blanket, still thinking, pondering, speculating, though in all honesty, was quite clueless to begin with.

-131313-

The next day, Cho was quite determined to keep everything to herself. She figured a lot has been said already and more explanations would probably aggravate the situation. Less talk, less worry, after all.

At breakfast, she opted to sit on a different area, sipped her juice and ate her eggs silently. She didn't feel too bad about not sitting with her friends. Pride, she had to exercise it.

Her eyes wandered over the Slytherin table. (No surprise there.) She could make out the unmistakable smirk on his lips as he sat sandwiched by Crabbe and Goyle who were both up to their routine antics.

She realized then that there were two sides to Draco. The popular, conceited Slytherin god who was obsessed on torturing everything in sight. This was the Draco that reminded her of the pointy faced freshman, who was rumoured to be a son of a Death Eater. He was Slytherin's slimy seeker; Harry's arch enemy. He had the reputation of being unkind, self-absorbed, but reservedly attractive. Many girls had been after him. Last year, he was dubbed the conspicuous one, the sex king if you will. None of the lowerclassmen had that reputation like he did.

And the second side was shadowed in obscurity that it almost didn't exist. Like a limited edition Quidditch card, it rarely surfaced. This Draco enveloped her in hugs, showered her with kisses, and drove her wild with his touch. This Draco was sensitive, though he would rather be transfigured to a leech than admit it. It was only during soft, mellow moments that this Draco made appearances.

Cho realized then that, maybe, she just didn't want to wait any longer.

-131313-

Too much of something is bad. Too much thinking drives a person mental. This was something Cho realized the wrong way when she saw Draco finishing up his fag one night during her rounds in the Charms corridors.

It was a cold night. The turtleneck sweater underneath her thick winter robes seemed to have done nothing to provide for her warmth. As she rounded up the corner, she saw Draco rubbing the cigarette stub against the stone walls to extinguish the flame and tossed it outside the window.

In an unexpected, bewildering decision, as though the Visigoths traveled in time, invaded her brain and destroyed the civilization there, she advanced in large strides, taking in the surprised look on his face with satisfaction, seized his shoulders and rammed him up against the stone wall to his and _her_ 's utter disbelief.

_Woah._

Draco's eyes were wide in surprise. "The fuck are you doing?"

"Why are you being so bloody difficult?" She began. Her fiery, intense gaze bore through his skull.

"Get off me," he ordered and her arms quickly found their place back to her sides. She regretted why she had allowed herself to be provoked like that. She crossed her arms on her chest, readying herself for the long-awaited confrontation.

His expression changed from surprise, to, as Cho anticipated, amusement, "Angry, aren't we?" he smirked, words dripping with sarcasm.

"No, _silly_, I'm not angry," Cho laughed disdainfully, matching the sarcasm. She even slapped his arm playfully, for effect.

He looked at her blankly. This wasn't the sweet Cho Chang he knew.

She suddenly was serious. "I'm furious, Draco. Why are you carrying on like this? You can't have your way with me for a week then suddenly cut me off. I can't seem to understand why you're acting like I did something wrong, when all I did was beat you in a fucking game."

This seemed to strike a nerve in him because he inhaled sharply. Cho drew senseless satisfaction from the expression on his face and the words seem to flow easily from her mouth.

"Not like it's the first time," she added as an afterthought and huffed.

"Listen to me," he drawled.

"No you listen to me," she snapped, pointing an accusing finger at his chest.

"Can I get a word out for fuck's sake?" he snatched her finger and pushed it away irritably.

Cho went speechless for the first time during the encounter, the warmth rising again on her face, producing a crimson glow.

"I was WRONG, ok? Happy?" He asked, breathing heavily.

She gaped at him wordlessly.

"Just… just spare me the guilt trips, _Chang_. That's what I have my father for."

Cho demanded, "What the bloody hell happened, then? Make me understand."

And finally, his reasons were revealed.

"Apparently, father sent a talent scout to watch me make a fool of myself. At this rate, I'll be lucky to get on the shortlist of the Chudley Cannons _reserve team_ all because I was thinking of how fucking gorge…" he stopped, looking away distractedly toward the darkness in the end of the corridor. "I can't let that sort of thing happen again."

Just when Cho opened her mouth to protest, he interjected.

"I really have a lot in my cauldron right now, what with the exams, Quidditch, my Father…"

"So what are you saying?" Cho asked impatiently. "Like I'm not important? I'm not a plaything, Draco Malfoy." She knew where this was leading to.

"You're twisting my words around. I never said you're NOT important," he said through gritted teeth. "If anything, you're…" He trailed off, then mended his statement with a follow-up. "…special."

'You're special' didn't sound too spectacular at that time. She expected something like: 'you're the most amazing person' or something more cinematic like 'you're the best thing that ever happened to me.' Special sort of sounded like she was a nutcase or like she was sick or something. She expected more from him really. More groveling and all that. But she knew in the back of her mind that groveling was something she'll never get from a pompous arse like Draco.

"Thank you very much for recognizing one of my many fine attributes," Cho rolled her eyes. "But what's your point?"

"It's just a bloody shag, Chang. Don't make this bigger than it really is," Draco replied, placing his hands inside his trouser pockets. But he couldn't meet her eyes.

"So that's it, then?" Cho asked, wanting to appear stronger than she actually was, but tears were starting to well up in her eyes. "I think I really made a mistake of actually thinking you could actually be human."

He shrugged and said in a low voice. "That's not my problem, isn't it?" And with a final glance at her, he walked away.

-131313-

_I know it's a bit short. I just want to get the 13th Chap done and over with. I think this chapter is essential to keep the insane Draco in-character. What do you think? _


	14. Ch 14: Delusional Draco

**PART TWO**

**Chapter 14: Delusional Draco**

**Disclaimer**: JKR owns HP.

A/N: There will be an essential, pivotal POV switch from this point on. We will be following the escapades and exploits of our resident sexy Slytherin from now on. Why? I like a challenge.

Thanks to my faithful readers especially .AwwLukTheSkyIsCryin., Serena, and Elektra. ;) Love you guys to pieces! You just keep me going. Also some new people added me and the story in their favorites list. Thank you (x eternity)!

Here it is._ R&R luvs ;)_

-141414-

_You have proved yet again, Draco Malfoy, that you are a class act._

He ran a sweaty hand hastily along his hair as he trudged down the steps toward the Dungeons. For the umpteenth time in his life, he had succeeded in masking his emotions, making a person feel sorry for herself, assuring himself that HE was in control. Cool and calm, he appeared before her as the confrontation transpired, but now his head was spinning in spirals of confusion as he struggled to remove the image of her tear-filled eyes from his mind's vision.

In his time, he has had his share of begging women. Pansy Parkinson, the eternal whiner, leapt into mind. Lavender Brown, Gryffindor's resident slut, was also a distant memory. But those black, narrow-rimmed eyes that were distinctly Cho's held so much emotion and promise that it made shoving the memory off his brain so difficult.

_Dammit._

He cursed loudly, clutching the railings tightly as he found himself almost falling prey to a trick step. This was one of his fears. He never wanted to be so caught up in a girl that he did stupid things. Stupid, careless things like almost tripping. And Malfoys are anything but clumsy.

The slick stone walls shone slightly from the torches of light scattered around the dungeons. Draco approached the familiar wall that secured the Slytherin domain and muttered the password.

The Slytherin common room was dark, dimmed, and deserted at eleven in the evening. Two black leather sofas were arranged parallel to each other, between it a black wooden coffee table were various reading materials lay sprawled. On a corner was a big black leather chair that his Father had donated two years ago. He never actually used it though. Usually, it was Crabbe or Goyle who bunked their fat arses there, whoever came first. There was a large study desk beside the chair, atop it various things—books, quills, parchments—that students leave behind. He used to nick stuff from that table, but he thought it too immature to keep doing that. The glowing embers in the fireplace provided a subtle orange glow to counter the grayness and neutrality of everything else.

He laid on one of the long couches, slightly annoyed at the noises the leather made as he settled his tired body comfortably on the soft foam. In his six years in school, he never liked hanging out there. The Slytherin common room was not as cozy as, say, the Head Boy and Girl's dormitory. It was very much like him, detached and cold, especially since the winter was slowly making its way.

Cho. What did he get himself into?

He replayed the encounter over and over in his head, from the time she trudged toward him with that angry look in her face and banged his body on the walls (_Damn. It would have been so fucking kinky under different circumstances_) to the time he had told her that she was only a shag and nothing more and tears glistened in her eyes. The more he replayed the encounter in his brain, the more he felt pangs of… guilt.

He scolded himself. _This is not the time to suddenly grow a spine._ He stared ahead at the chandelier hanging above him and lay awake until dawn.

-141414-

"Nah, nah, I didn't do it," Crabbe said.

"Neither did I," Goyle responded. "It was Finnegan."

"Yeah, yeah," Crabbe seconded his friend.

For a moment there, Professor McGonagall looked as though she was going to believe their 'not guilty' pleas, but the fact that the two pinned the blame on a Gryffindor, a member of her house, just discredited their claims.

Draco sat back impatiently on a chair, one leg stretched out as he waited for the resolution of Case: Who put the dungbomb in Hermione Granger's backpack to which Crabbe and Goyle were the primary suspects. It was not the first time his two friends got into trouble. Their antics, however immature and repetitive, still amused him in some way.

"Detention, both of you. Report to Filch tonight, I believe he needs some assistance in cleaning some of the lavatories," McGonagall said in clipped tones as Crabbe and Goyle both groaned. "As for you, Mr. Malfoy," she gave him a patronizing look, her eyes staring stickily on the gleaming prefect badge on his chest, "You'd do well to put these friends of yours on a leash. They've caused too much mayhem in this school."

He gaped at her blankly, not bothering to stand from his relaxed position on the chair. "As you wish, Professor," he replied boredly.

She huffed indignantly and walked outside, her long green robes billowing behind her as she disappeared from view.

"So who really did it?" Malfoy asked, leading the way toward the door, grabbing his knapsack from the other chair.

"Not me," Crabbe said, swinging his big backpack on his shoulder.

"I didn't do it," Goyle replied, popping a Droobles stick in his mouth. "You know I easily get queasy with odors."

"Then who in the devil did it?" Malfoy asked to nobody in particular as they walked along the corridors, an evil grin on his face as he remembered how he discreetly slipped the Zonko's product in Granger's immaculate white backpack and anticipated its explosion. No need to tell them he did it, though.

"You have to admit though, it was quite hilarious…" Crabbe started laughing. "That person deserves a 'thank you' note."

"Yeah. The way Granger reacted when Weasley asked her if she beefed," Goyle guffawed loudly. "The dung just bloody reeked there, didn't it? I thought I was going to go sick."

Draco laughed with them. _Anything_ really to keep his mind off of Cho.

The conversation of how they reckoned Granger will get the stink of her backpack carried them toward the Great Hall. It was Supper, finally; his favorite part of the day. He dumped his bag unceremoniously on the bench beside him and took out a book he'd been reading. Crabbe and Goyle were now talking about Quidditch, not bothering to let Draco join in on the conversation. They knew Draco liked to be left alone during Supper.

Under the pretense of reading the topmost lines of the pages, he strained his eyes to find Cho. He just wanted to see if she was ok.

"YEAH BEEF!" Crabbe rejoiced as their plates were suddenly filled up with steak.

Draco would have burst out laughing at how stupid 'yeah beef' just sounded, if he wasn't so busy looking for a particular chinese Ravenclaw among the rows and rows of students. The sounds of forks to plates filled the air as he found her sitting alone, not in her usual spot and not with her usual group. In fact, the social butterfly was sitting alone. Draco could not believe his eyes. For a second there, he actually thought of leaving his food and accompanying her, but the more sensible Draco in his head forbade him. And well, she hated him.

The veil of jet black hair fell from her face as she leaned forward to take a spoonful of rice. She moved her mouth slowly, wiping the sides with a table napkin from her lap afterwards. A couple of chews after and she sipped from her orange juice.

_Ok, you are watching her eat._

"Malfoy!" somebody called. Realizing he was still holding the book, he set it down and turned towards the caller. It was Terence.

"What?" he asked moodily, forking a piece of meat on his plate.

"Why weren't you in practice last night?"

"I was busy brooding over my relationship with Cho Chang!" is what he would have said.

"I have a bad shoulder," he lied, clapping his right shoulder lightly.

"As long as you're not in the Hospital Wing coming down with some sort of flesh-eating disease, I want to see your arse on the field," he said with finality and went back to his seat by the end of the Slytherin table.

"Bastard." He cursed silently, slicing the steak with the knife with much more force than it actually needed. Terence and him used to get along up until Draco started snogging the apparent girl of Terence's dreams. This he found out when Terence confronted him because of allegedly stealing Cho during the Yule Ball. Terence's anger even escalated when they lost in Quidditch and he was a given an opening to torture Malfoy with his irrational anger.

Draco was halfway into his meal when his eyes suddenly found Cho, face buried in her palms as a boy patted her back, whispering to her. Terence.

_What was he doing beside her? _

_Why the hell is she crying again? _

_**The damn bugger made her cry!**_

But before he decided to stalk toward them and throw a practiced _Crucio_ on the offending boy, he realized that she was probably crying because of him, Draco, and Terence was being the high-and-mighty gentleman, comforting her.

He suddenly lost his appetite and exited the Great Hall, passing the Ravenclaw table to make sure both of them saw him.

"Malfoy!" a female voice called as he planted a foot on the first step of the stairs.

He looked over his shoulder and found Cho's curly-haired friend walking toward him.

"Liked my letter?" she asked, raising an eyebrow at him.

"What are you talking about?"

"It wasn't Cho who wrote the letter. Poor girl can't even word how much she hates you so I wrote it for her," she smiled patronizingly at him.

Realization dawned on him as he tried to remember the words from Cho's letter that had so enraged him the night Terence handed it to him. _You've done a pretty awesome job acting like a dickhead, I made a mistake for allowing you to enter my life_, and there was also a bit about saying sorry in different languages…

"Yeah, that was pretty amusing," he smiled pensively, rubbing his chin with his index and thumb. "Write me more. There really is nothing like angry mail from people who don't know the first thing about me to lull me to sleep at night."

"You are a bigger arse than I thought," she said, face screwing up in anger.

"Now that's a matter of opinion," he was quick to jest.

The girl shook her head disbelievingly at him.

_Give it up woman, I'm quicker than you._

"If you ever hurt her again I swear to the Heavens…"

"Marietta!" one of the Patil twins called her. Padma or Parvati, whichever the hell she was.

"You get the point," she said with a tone of finality and followed her Asian friend inside the Great Hall.

"Yeah, catch you later, love," he called out to her in such exaggerated mock cheerfulness that Patil had to stare at him in disbelief.

_Those damn girls._

-141414-

_I could try to fight it, just deny it, avoid the touch and turn away from you._

_I may just ride it out but If I like it, it's bad enough to call it love._

The Weird Sisters' new single blasting from the WNN in Draco's dormitory placed him in such a contemplative mood as he sat up on his bed, allowing the pale moon to shine over him. There was, however, more to the dramatic rifts that made him so reflective. It was the fact that the lyrics of the song basically spelled out his problem, but he didn't know it.

The letter. The blasted letter was one of the primary reasons why he had stood his ground and decided to leave her. No one spoke to him in such harsh tones and stepped on him like that. He thought she had called him a git, a dickhead, a mistake… and he did not take it too lightly the night he received it. Nobody spoke to him that way. There was no way in Hell he was taking that sitting down.

Everything was his fault. If only he had won that game. Or had he not acted like a dick when he lost, none of this would have happened. His humongous ego was too bruised after that game that everything else that ensued was done in a desperate attempt to remedy the situation. He even risked hurting her just so he could mend his sorry state.

He shook himself from the thoughts, but realized he couldn't.

He realized then how easily he took her forgranted. When Cho tailed him to talk, he so horridly threw her off. And that power he had over her… it felt nice. He was in control again so he decided that he'd get back to her when he felt like it. He was sure she'd be the obedient girl waiting for his arrival, just like Pansy, Lavender, and all other girls he went out with. But the plan backfired.

And now Cho's image kept swimming in his mind. He classified her as one of his casual fuck buddies, but knew from the very start that she was not like that at all. To have been Diggory's and Potter's girl, two of the biggest do-gooders Hogwarts has ever seen, credited her as legitimate girl friend material. And instead of holding on to the amazing girl, he let her slip from his grasp.

Merlin! Marietta was right. He was a bigger arse than he'd realized.

-141414-

_Still short, but no cliffie this time because I am nice. :) **Review**! The next chappie is in progress now, so watch out for it. _:)

References:

1The Visigoths line from the previous chapter is not entirely mine. I read it one of our handouts in my Technical Writing subject.

2The Weird Sisters' new single is in reality a song by Santana and JC Chasez titled _If I don't_.


	15. Ch 15: Slytherin Soiree no 2

**Chapter 15: Slytherin Soiree no. 2**

**Disclaimer**: JKR owns HP. End of story.

**A/N**: Thank you readers! Thanks so much for all the feedback. I received good responses regarding the POV switch so I guess I'm keeping it. I really appreciate the time you put in this story. It is my utmost pleasure to write this (hopefully) good addition to the world of Cho/Draco shippers. Lots of love to all of you. :D

Chele – Thanks for adding OotB in your faves! I am just ecstatic that you think it's one of the best Ch/D stories. There aren't many, really, but still… :) Hope you support 'til the end.

Elektra05 – About Terence, I know he's a good guy and all, but really, Draco is mah boy! I'm thinking about that challenge you posted though, could make for an interesting twist… Thanks for the idea. :)

Serena Goodkey –It was nice hearing from you again. Yea, I'm in Team Draco too. Lol.

Cho-Wood – Thanks for the feedback. Read til the end, yeah:)

hazeleyes –Well, you know, I want to make this as entertaining as possible and I am so glad you liked it. Nice to hear from you again. –hugs-

Earendil-DMCC – I thought you upped and left because I did not update for, like, five years. I know how y'all just hate reading unfinished fics. Anyway, I totally agree with you about Draco being OOC when he's all nice and stuff, but I think at some point the boy has to grow a spine really. And the summary has been like that for the past four chapters I think.

liannimation – Kudos to you too. Also, repetition of themes especially plot lines is quite inevitable though unintentional in this huge huge world of fan fiction. My two cents.

_That would be all. R&R luvs._

-151515-

DECEMBER

Only a few more weeks before the week-long Christmas break and Draco could not be any more relieved. He needed a break from all the monotony that pervaded in Hogwarts. A break from all sorts of torture—living with Crabbe and Goyle, the shitload of homework, getting up early, enduring Quidditch training, and the most recent form of mental grief in the form of one Cho Chang. He was tired and frustrated. He hated the ennui of life living in the four walls of Hogwarts. He hated her. He hated himself.

And he refused to think that he loved her or any rubbish like that, (_The Argument: Just because I like seeing her tight bum in a pair of jeans does not mean I am in luuuurve.) _despite the fact that he'd been caught staring at her one too many times. Or the fact that he kept dreaming of her. Or that Parkinson's sexual come-ons no longer sounded appealing. Or the fact that he always had this burning feeling in his stomach from wanting to inflict a momentous amount of pain on Terence every time he got near her. Or the fact that in plain, simple, layman's terms what he felt was, well, he missed her.

_But do you really tell a person you insulted that you miss her?_

At the risk of sounding like such a cheeseball, there was something about Cho. She was gorgeous, the Oriental bombshell. Her smile was exquisite. Her presence was intoxicating. It was like she illumined everything that she passed. In a world of blurs and patches of black and white, she was the spectrum of color. All that and she was a right wildcat in bed.

As mentioned before, you could not be Potter's or Diggory's ex without being classified as the 'cream of the crop.' Good guys get the good girls after all. And this is why he knew he did not deserve her. He did not deserve good things. Well, apart from insanely expensive things like Firebolts and stuff. But her… she was far too good for him.

He thought it best to stay away from her, even if it meant dodging her in crowds, making sure they did not cross paths when they patrolled the corridors at night, and no longer visiting the HB/HG dorm. It was difficult but he managed. He had to anyway.

-151515-

During the past weeks, spanning from the end weeks of November toward early December, Draco noticed that Terence and Cho, as a consequence of his actions, had steadily become more friendly than usual. There had been more than a few friendly hugs thrown around, a couple of secret smiles… NOT THAT HE WAS WATCHING THEM OR ANYTHING! It drove him mad that they were sharing the same quarters. It drove him mad that he was the catalyst of whatever the hell was going on with them.

"FUCK!" he stood with a yelp as his bottle of green ink spilled down his pants during note-taking in Charms class.

Everybody was watching him now, some of the Gryffindors snickering in delight as they looked at his stained trousers. He fumed at the unwanted attention that he had gotten so conveniently yet again.

"May I please excuse myself, professor," he said through gritted teeth making his way to the door even before Professor Flitwick voiced his permission.

The idea of him staring down his trousers, pointing his wand at his groin area while he walked along the corridors did not sound at all appealing so he decided to postpone the cleaning until he reached the privacy of the lavatories.

As he quickened his pace and turned on a corner, he unceremoniously came crashing into someone, sending several books flying all over the place.

"Shit," he said in shock.

"Oh," came a familiar female voice.

He was ready to say 'watch where you're going' in his infamous drawl, when he found his eyes resting calmly on the effervescent face of Cho Chang.

As he gaped at her unattractively, she went down on her knees to pick up the books that their collision sent astray. He could not help himself. He was so mesmerized by the way her hair swayed as she reached for one book then the other and piled them haphazardly beside her.

She looked up, her brown eyes meeting his gray, and with a casual smile said, "a little help?"

He nodded and quickly bent down to grab the farthest book and placed it atop the pile of six or so books. She struggled to lift the pile and when she did, Draco extended a hand, offering to take some of them. Cho shook her head.

"Cho…" he began as she made for the other direction. It was the first time he said her name (out loud) in a while and was not sure how he felt about it. She turned around, hugging the books to her chest.

"Can I help you?" she asked, a little too formally, with a tight smile on her lips like she was talking to a stranger. They have seen each other naked. He was anything but a stranger!

He took a step near her, so desperately wanting to shove the books away and kiss her madly, then uncharacteristically fumbled with the words to say, the _right _words to say. "I… I..."

"What?" she asked uninterestedly, her face screwing up in frustration from trying to keep the books in check. _If she'd only let me help, really._

"I left a robe in your room and would like to get it back," he said as quickly as he hoped to retract it the moment it spilled out of his mouth. It was definitely not what he wanted to say. Definitely not the _right_ thing to say.

"Oh," she said half-expectantly. "I'll make sure you get it ASAP then." Why did she sound too formal all of a sudden? No, not formal. She sounded distant, detached even.

"Very well," he said matching the tone and walked away, forgetting for a millisecond what he was doing out of class.

_Oh yeah, the dratted ink stain_.

-151515-

It was a Saturday morning. As the Slytherins flew in their designer brooms around the pitch, the first signs of snow fell from the bright blue sky. Draco held out a hand and captured a snowflake in his palm and crushed it until water was dripping from his grip. If only he could transfigure a snowflake into a Snitch.

He was definitely out of his element. Actually, he had been out if it for weeks now. He could not spot the Snitch as quickly as he did before. Admittedly, he was not a "natural" like Saint Potter and he _did_ buy his way into the team in their second year. But he had improved drastically over the years.

After circling and circling the pitch, straining his eyes to find the gold ball, he found it dancing by the stands. He bent low, gathering speed as he shot like a bullet toward the Snitch and with a powerful stretch seized it. Terence blew his whistle.

"Finally," he called out, signaling for everyone to go back to the dugout for much needed rest. He hovered midfield, obviously waiting for Draco to fly down.

"Malfoy," Terence called out when they were almost at level.

He glanced sideways at him, returning the bloody Snitch to his captain.

"Tonight, RoR, 10 p.m.," Terence said as he descended alongside him.

He nodded, understanding fully what that meant. There was going to be another Slytherin soiree. And he was pretty damn sure who was going.

-151515-

The Room of Requirement, as always, made for an interesting venue every time they accessed it. This time, it resembled a Muggle pub with a bar and high tables and loud music and beer and those flaming strobe lights. There were definitely more people this time compared with their start of term Slytherin soiree. There were more people he didn't know, but that really was not a cause for alarm. He was pretty sure they knew him and that was what mattered.

He grinned to himself as he made his way inside, wading his way out of the crowd of skimpily-clad Slytherins and perhaps several Ravenclaws, remembering that his more sensitive parts made a public appearance last time around. No streaking this time, he promised himself, making a mental note to avoid the vodkas. Muggle drinks did not have the pleasant tipsy, just-slightly-dizzy effect that a firewhisky had on him. Instead, those drinks always left him stoned and hurling his insides out after the ritual 'look at me, I'm acting like a jackass' moment.

He received a couple of smiles, some suggestive, some perhaps friendly, but the smile that caught him off-guard was the smile that was not intended for him.

Cho was leaning on the bar, holding the neck of her wine glass daintily between her fingers, smiling as Terence leaned on her ear and whispered something like a joke, or a sexual suggestion. She let out a small giggle afterwards.

Draco again felt a rush of a numbing rush of hatred toward Terence. If he had a knife, preferably a rusty one, Terence would be castrated then and there. But the anger was quickly replaced by overwhelming admiration for Cho.

He gazed at her from head to toe, his eyes drinking her delicious figure clad in a strapless dress of a deep purple hue and a white shrug. Her hair was curled for tonight, some of it pulled back for a half-ponytail. He loved it, if the slight bulge in his black trousers was any indication.

"Dance with me…" somebody purred in his ear. He did not really have to turn around to figure out the owner of the low, seductive voice.

He faced her and when his eyes traveled up and down her clothing (or lack of it) he could not help but laugh slightly, covering his grin with a hand. "Is it just me or is everything you're wearing really transparent."

"Oh shut up," she smacked his arm playfully, a coy smile playing on her lips as she circled her long arms around his neck and leaned over, whispering, "You know you like it."

_Actually I don't. _But he did not bother saying it to her face. It was perhaps the fact that he hadn't had a shag in weeks that made him tolerate Pansy's overt displays of closeness. As they swayed to sexy R and B tunes, he kept imagining it was Cho wrapped around his arms.

A clarification. Okay, so Pansy was not all that bad. She and Draco had been friends since forever, playing in the Manor during weekends. Both home schooled before Hogwarts, they were taught by the same tutor, a dotty old lady from Glasgow called Betsy. He knew her. She knew him. He (used to) liked her. She liked him. She was gorgeous, really. A little shameless when it came to dressing, but if anything, she had nice little packages to flaunt anyway. He did not, however, care enough to nurture a relationship with her.

"I have to go. I'm tired," Draco said as the beats of the tunes died down and the fresh drum beats from the next song overlapped the fading melody. He spotted Cho bobbing her head and swaying her hips in a slight but sexy way and realized he could no longer just watch her from a distance.

Pansy immediately knew what was going on in Draco's head. "Give it up, _Malfoy_. Chang won't even look at you twice," she made a grab for his hand. She only called him by his surname when she was deeply annoyed.

"Thankfully, I don't give a damn about what you have to say," Draco said, wiggling her hand off his wrist.

She pouted and stormed off. He rolled his eyes then glanced toward the bar.

Cho was gone.

_FUUUUUUCK._

He went to the bar, served himself a glass of firewhisky and downed it in one swig. He loved the familiar intoxicating taste of alcohol coursing down his throat. He poured himself another glass and, as he had previously done, emptied it in one shot. After another refill, he proceeded to his search mission.

He loosened the white shirt underneath his black blazer, unbuttoning the third button to cool himself from the heat generated by the alcohol now in his body. He was wearing stonewashed jeans that hugged him in places that needed emphasis and slightly tousled hair like he had just been shagged.

"Hi Draco," Lavender Brown sexily raised a brow, stopping in front of him to trail a finger down his exposed chest. "Looking hot tonight."

"As always, love," he said smirking and walked past her in his usual suave stride.

He spotted Cho sitting with her friends in a red couch situated in a corner of the room, chatting away as usual as though she had no care with the world. He smiled. He liked seeing her happy, smiling.

"Hey stalker," Cho's friend, Marietta Edgecombe, appeared from nowhere.

Draco almost jumped in surprise, "Merlin, Edgecombe! You scared the balls out of me."

She laughed at his expression, flipping her curly blonde locks from her shoulder.

"If you're planning to threaten me to stay away from her then…" He clutched his glass tightly.

She cut him off, a silly grin forming on her face. "Actually, I _want_ you to talk to her."

Draco could not believe his ears. He heavily suspected Edgecombe was playing with him. That, or she was already drunk. She definitely had that woozy look in her eyes and a slight tinge of beer in her breath.

"Seriously," she offered helpfully, noticing the doubt in his expression.

He looked away from her, biting back an honest-to-goodness reply, but ended up saying it anyway, "She hates me."

"'Hates you with a fire of a thousand suns,' to be exact. And that's a direct quote. (At this, Draco's eyes widened in shock) But the point is," Marietta paused. "You can't keep stalking her."

"I do NOT stalk," he gleamed down at her defensively.

"Sure you don't," Marietta laughed derisively and with a dismissive wave went back to join her friends in the couch.

Draco watched the girls for a bit, (_really really looking like a stalker now_,) when Cho looked up and locked eyes with him. He grinned slyly, raising his glass toward her. She smiled and nodded at him, but her eyes did not linger on his face like she used to. And at that, he could not help but feel disappointed.

-151515-

As the night progressed, the only thing Draco managed to accomplish was to get really wasted and not look the part. He had achieved the limit of his alcohol capacity so he decided to sit around a bit, watching some of the girls dancing.

The French femme fatale was again in appearance, her Infamous Red Knickers peeking from her low rise jeans as she jiggled and jived in the corner with Goyle. How his mate captured such a vixen is still unknown to him. Draco thought maybe he ought to rethink his strategies when it came to girls.

He stood up and proceeded to a little corridor where the toilets were. After responding to the call of nature, he swung the door open, stopping from behind it as he heard a recognizable voice nearby.

"I don't really like him that way," Cho said.

The other person was Marietta. "Why not? Terence is like… perfect."

"You know I'm still…" her voice trailed off. "Okay. I needn't bother really, you won't understand."

"It's Malfoy, isn't it?"

"Well…" she paused.

Draco's heart was constricting now.

"Yes…" she mumbled in a soft voice.

He swallowed as a lump caught in his throat, closing the door abruptly as an inexplicable feeling of happiness roared inside his chest.

-151515-

_I really wanted our favorite pair to hook up in this chap, but I decided at the last minute to postpone it. Read! Review! C'mon, be nice. :) Also, any suggestion on what should happen next? I've started the next, but I was wondering what you guys think…_

Reference:

1 'Hates you with a fire of a thousand suns and that's a direct quote' was from 10 Things I Hate About You.

Erratum:

In the previous chapter, Draco 'stole' Cho from Terence in the HALLOWEEN Ball, not the Yule Ball. Sorry for the mix-up.


	16. Ch 16: Yuletide Yearnings

**Chapter 16: Yuletide Yearnings**

**Disclaimer**: Dear Miss Jo, I am making no money out of this story. Care to share your billions with me then?

**A/N**: Guess who's out of school now? ME! Just graduated college, finished with the ceremony and everything, and am now officially a bum, which is bad and good at the same time. BAD: No money. GOOD: More time for writing silly fan fiction! The first agenda in my post-college slacking off period: A Cho/Cedric one-shot. Ok enough of me-chatter, on to story-chatter.

Somebody asked how Guillia's name if pronounced. It's Joo-lee-yah, like Julia. And her surname is Juppe. I just mixed names I found in an encyclopedia… lol. This POV switch is proving to be harder than I expected. Everything is starting to get all romantic and it's so hard doing it in Malfoy's eyes. Draco's preventing me to be giggly and sappy and uberly sweet. Thanks readers and reviewers!

corny's idol – Appreciate all the reviews. Glad to know that you like how I portray Draco. Hope you read till the end. :)

Elektra05 – Thanks hun. :) Love it when you leave a review!

hAzElEyEs – Don't worry, they'll hook up in their time. :) This is after all a Cho/Draco fic. Draco's mental debates will continue in this chapter. His self-conflicts are quite enjoyable to write. I appreciate the review. Read till the end, ok:) Thanks.

Earendil-DMCC – Yeah, I was thinking along the lines of your suggestion. That blasted robe better still be in Cho's room. Nosy Terence might do the honors of returning the robe to Draco, therefore ruining everything. Lol. Ok, whatever, I'm talking here like I have no control of how the story should turn out. About Cho liking Terence, well you know how girls like, but not like-like, somebody. That's kind of how Cho feels for Terence.

Serena Goodkey – Yes he is! The damn bastard just don't know how to deal with it really. Normal boys would just pluck up the courage and grovel at a girl's feet. (Ok, not really) Find out how Draco does it. Thank you!

.AwLukTheSkyIsCryin. – Don't worry about it. I'll try not to make you guys wait too long now that I have time. I just love it when you call my fic fabalishful. Lol.

_This is the part where I say… pregnant pause R&R luvs._

-161616-

A trapeze artist was swinging back and forth in his chest. Five giddy school girls were jumping up and down his insides. Analogy or no analogy, Draco was simply happy, joyous… ecstatic, even.

He stared at his reflection from the oval bathroom mirror, noticing a slight change in his appearance. He was smiling.

But that was the end of any physical manifestation of his happiness. He lit up a fag and took a huge drag to soothe his over-excited nerves.

-161616-

The event reached its denouement. Mellow tunes (some preferred to call it sappy) from old records replaced the party tunes. The crowd had definitely thinned and only the hard-core snogging couples (i.e. Goyle and Guillia) were left on the dance floor to exploit the romantic sounds as background music to their feral feats. Draco was familiar with the current song. It was one of those smooth, jazzy hits that his mother used to sing it all the time. Personally, he preferred rock, but there were just songs that he heard so many times that he could not help but like it. This was one of them.

He found her sitting on her own by the bar, stirring her vodka absent-mindedly with a cherry. Her face was masked by the curly black spirals of hair that were like silver wisps underneath the lights. He looked left and right in manner of crossing a street, checking whether Terence (not that he bloody cared) or her friends were in sight. None.

Draco approached her, squeezing his sweaty palms in the lining of his trouser pockets. He stopped behind her and whispered over her shoulder, "Dance with me."

She glanced at him from her shoulder, her eyes widening ever so slightly. He knew the look she was going for was annoyed, but she ended up looking surprised. If anything, pleasantly surprised.

"Please," Draco said, holding out a hand.

Despite showing signs of reluctance, she accepted, dropping the cherry inside her drink and taking his hand. Her hand was warm, soft, and shaking. And Draco found it to his liking to be holding her nervous hand, knowing it was he who made it such.

He led her to a slightly dimmer, quieter part of the room, away from the discomfort of surrounding madly kissing couples. Not that he didn't like to be part of the statistic or anything; he just needed to sort some things out with her before anything else.

He turned around and she placed her hands tentatively on his shoulders. He was relieved, but there was a slight suspicion in his stomach that she was planning to hex him soon. _Oh hell, let's just get this over with._

"Listen, Cho…" he began.

"Don't worry about it," came her quick reply.

_Whoa. Wait. That was not how it was supposed to go._

For a moment there, he just stood motionless and unconvinced as he pondered the authenticity of her reply. She was looking at him rather intently.

_Was he off the hook just like that? _

_It can't be. _

_**No fucking way.**_

_There had to be a catch._

"That's it?" He could not help but smirk as she gave him her first genuine smile in a long time. "Damn, I'm good. You didn't even let me get to the groveling bit."

"Shut up," she said slapping his shoulder playfully. He heard her mumbling 'cheeky bastard' under her breath and felt so comfortable again that he leaned forward and kissed her on the cheek.

When he pulled away, he saw her licking her lips unconsciously, plum red lips that were really screaming to be kissed, and stroked the side of her face with his fingers where his lips grazed a while ago. She closed her eyes, relaxing at his touch and he pulled her towards him as their bodies swayed in unison.

And in a momentous, life-changing resolve, backed by a sudden jolt of courage and humility, he inhaled a sharp breath and said the two words that he had not said and meant for a long time.

"I'm sorry," he murmured into her hair, inhaling the sweet scent of jasmine that was distinctly Cho.

Cho lifted her head up, eyes twinkling under the glow of the disco ball above them. "Right. Ok." The gesture took her by surprise, but appreciation was apparent in her expression. She hugged him to her, wrapping her arms all the way around his neck and leaning forward to rest her head perfectly under his chin.

She suddenly jolted backward, looking like she was going to say something awkward, "But this… (she made gestures with her hands) doesn't mean anything. We're not dating. You're not my boyfriend. I'm not your girlfriend. And that damn exclusivity business is just not happening."

_What the fuck?_

Draco stared at her blankly. _So this was the catch._ He was not quite sure how to respond to that, But when he thought about it, it was what he wanted at first. Commitment-phobe you can call him, but he just was not that type of guy who fancied the term exclusivity. That was up until Cho said those words and he found himself not quite agreeing to it.

_Are you drunk?_ He wanted to ask her. But he could not bring himself to.

"'Fcourse. You didn't think you'd have me all to yourself now, did you? " came his cocky reply, his voice an octave higher than usual. But Cho did not seem to notice. Or mind.

"Right," Cho said, smiling. "Good."

She leaned forward and took her previous position. She just looked so comfortable nestling in his chest. He liked her there. He _really_ liked her there. And he was sure it was not the alcohol talking.

-161616-

At 2 a.m. Draco, a bit muzzy from the drinks and the need to sleep, walked Cho to her dormitory, still haunted by the memory of what she told him previously.

_We're not dating, she said._ _You're not my boyfriend. I'm not your girlfriend._ It played in his brain like a mantra. A death chant, more like. With the parameters Cho laid out a while ago, he was actually absolved of ushering her back to the safety of her common room, but he decided to walk with her just because.

Regardless of the death chant swimming in his thoughts like there were death eaters camping around his brain muttering incantations, he had the most refreshing, dreamless sleep he had in months. The morning after, however, was a different story.

A soft sheen of sunlight filtered through the drapes of his four-poster bed ushering another day. Draco sat up his bed, staring blankly at his immaculate white sheets as he recalled the night's events. They were back in good terms, but Cho made it perfectly clear that she did not want a relationship with him. Nothing formal, at least. Draco was usually the one who laid out these terms. Something was definitely wrong in that scenario. He was neither angry nor insulted, just a bit confused. _Anyway_, he shrugged, _if that's what she wants, that's what she gets._

He pushed the blankets to the foot of the bed, swung his legs to the side of the bed, and pulled the drapes open.

Then, he saw the most disgusting thing he has ever seen in his entire life. In the adjacent bed lay Goyle and Guillia Juppe in the most awkward of sexual positions that Draco wouldn't know how to even begin to describe it. All he knew was that the girl had to be a gymnast or a stripper to be that limber.

"Oi!" Draco gaped at the pair, stunned. "What in the name of Azkaban is going on here?" Of course, he knew what was going on. It was just the first thing he blurted out.

"ACK!" After a rally of curses and blankets being thrown around, Goyle finally found his tongue, "Draco, mate…"

Draco turned away in complete and utter disgust, holding out an open palm towards the two. "Get dressed, for fuck's sake."

"I'm just giving him his Christmas present," the girl, now covered amply by Goyle's Puddlemere U blanket, said. "If you don't mind…"

Goyle immediately cut in, "Sorry, Draco, I forgot to… umm… well… umm… if you think about it, it's quite funny." He cackled nervously.

"Funny was definitely not the word I was looking for," Draco rolled his eyes and made his way to the showers, grabbing his towel on the back of a chair. He took a final peak at Guillia (he couldn't help himself, really. The girl had the largest--) and wondered whether he'll be getting a Christmas gift like that.

-161616-

Christmas. It was a topic that did not really whip Draco up in verbal frenzy. His family never had plans to celebrate this occasion, unless you count the monthly Death Eater dinners in the Manor scheduled on the 25th of every month. And the December dinner, of course, fell on Christmas Day. Draco grew up not experiencing the 'magic' of the Yuletide season. Frankly, he didn't know what the fuss was all about. It was uberly commercialized.

But this year, he wanted to make plans. Plans excluding old, wizarding has-beens who had offered their pathetic lives to cause destruction. Plans excluding riveting conversations about the Dark Lord and his world domination tactics. Plans including, well, Cho, who else?

When he got into the Great Hall the next morning, Terence was just making his way to the Ravenclaw table. Draco strutted inside without a care in the world, unfazed by the fact that Terence was again sitting beside Cho because after what he heard last night, he knew he was up by a mile.

He looked up and found Cho's smiling eyes looking at him as she drank her glass of pumpkin juice. He smirked and jerked his head to the sides, motioning for her to return her attention to Terence who was telling her what looked like a hilarious anecdote. She flashed him a knowing smile as she wiped the side of her lips with a napkin and turned to Terence.

He felt triumphant.

-161616-

His Christmas plans did not really need careful pondering. He was going to ask her out on their first formal date and he was quite confident (no surprise there) that she was going to answer in the affirmative anyway.

On his way to supper on Wednesday night, Draco decided to stop by Cho's last class of the day, which happened to be Potions. As if on cue, the seventh years, wearing similar expressions of glum and misery, filed out the dungeons after enduring yet another dose of Professor Snape's wrath. While everyone else seemed to be carrying the world on their shoulders, Cho was grinning.

"Hi," she smiled meekly as she spotted him leaning on a wall as though understanding that he was there to meet up with her. Marietta was walking by her side, nose buried in a book and looking quite disinterested by his presence.

"How are you doing?" he said, walking by her side as they followed the steady stream of people walking up the stairs toward the Great Hall.

"Great," she said smiling, hooking her arm comfortably in the crook of his. For the first time in a while, Draco's palms were sweating.

"I was thinking," he began. "Go with me on Friday."

She looked up at him questioningly, "What's on Friday?"

"Hogsmeade. Christmas Eve," he replied.

She suddenly looked pensive, but before long, her lips curled into a smile. "You want to spend Christmas Eve with me?"

"What?" he asked, furrowing his brows, pretending to not have heard the question.

"You want to spend Christmas Eve with me?" she said, this time a great deal louder, her voice slicing through the murmurs of the surrounding crowd. A few curious faces turned towards them.

"Fine," he rolled his eyes in mock annoyance. "You don't have to be pushy about it."

She blushed in a deep shade of crimson and slugged him in the arm.

-161616-

_I don't really know what to think about this chap. shrugs Read! Review! Oh and **reviewers, please tell me where you're from**. Just curious. :)_

_Next chapter: Terence might do something bad. evil grin_


	17. Ch 17: Christmas eve

**Chapter 17: Christmas Eve**

Disclaimer: JKR owns HP.

A/N: Holy sh-- A record 10 reviews last chapter. I friggin' love you guys! You guys are the best. And, OotB passed 3000 hits too, so yay! (To anyone who doesn't find this at all impressive because s/he gets a million hits and reviews a chapter, I'm sorry but please don't spoil my fun. Thanks.) I hope you guys don't stop reviewing because I'm such a review whore you have no idea.

a1phadoub1ep1us and AngelLust12387 – Thanks for adding OotB in your favorites. :)

Cho-Wood – Where were you? Lol. Thanks for the review!

jen – Glad you like it!

theravenclawquill – That's because Cho is pretty dang awesome herself. I honestly don't get why some people hate her. Ok, I do. (Because she whined a lot in book 5) Anyway… I still think 'For the love of Quidditch' should have a sequel:) I'm waiting for it.

hon3yduke3s sweetie – Thanks for the lovely compliments and for adding OotB to your alerts. Well, Draco honestly does not like that whole non-exclusive set-up, but he'll roll with it until Cho comes to her senses.

Serena Goodkey – Now that I think about it, Terence is such a nice guy that he can't turn evil just like that. So no evil Terence (for the time being)

.AwwLuktheSkyIsCryin. – Wow. Thanks. It's awesome that this silly little hobby of mine brings smiles to people's faces. Yay! And yeah, it's obvious. Cho wants him bad. But she's putting up this i-can-live-without-you façade that Draco has to deal with.

corny's idol – Yay! Thanks again for the review! No problem. :)

Earendil-DMCC – Alright, no more evil Terence. (for now) Re: "more whispering in Cho's ear," I shall grant your request in upcoming chappies. Lol.

mo0dy – Thanks for the review. Hope you're still reading this. And you SHOULD start reading other Draco/Cho fics because they are the best.

Elektra05 – YES! You totally got my idea. I wanted to show that Cho was a girl that he has to work for, unlike the previous girls he dated. G'luck on starting your spring quarter. And OMG, you reviewed like two hours after I uploaded the chapter. I just love you! Haha :)

This has to be my longest A/N evarrr. On with the scheduled programming_. R&R luvs…_

-171717-

It had been a while since he last asked a girl out. It had been a while since he had done something romantic for a girl. It had been a while since he liked a girl, _really_ liked a girl. So if one would ask if he was nervous about taking Cho on their first formal date, the answer was clear as day. HECK YEAH.

This pseudo-celebrity, this brick wall of indifference, who strode the school with ease and nobility fitting his stature and stunned ogling passersby with his ashy gaze, was suddenly turned into this frustrated, infatuated teenage boy.

The asking out part was piss easy. He was sure Cho would say yes. Now that she did, he had no idea where to take her. Or how to go about this first date with Miss Chang. He had never been one to plan, owing to his spontaneity, But this was a case he did not want to leave to chance.

Having been to Hogsmeade for the past years, including around five or so illegal visits, he knew the place at the back of his mind. He closed his eyes, remembering all the shops that he had passed by over the years and weighed his options. _Where would be a good place to take her?_

Then, as if on cue, the answers to his prayers emerged from the stone wall entrance, clad in oversized Slytherin robes, a cropped hair cut, and a gap-toothed grin. In came Harold Flint, one of the cockiest prats in their year. Flint was a ladies' man, waltzing in and out of the dormitories with various girls in various days of the week. And why he was so, was considered one of the mysteries of the wizarding world. It was right up there with 'is there life after death.'

Flint was neither the shiniest button nor the sharpest crayon in the box, if metaphors are to be employed. His haircut was a bit 60s and he had bad teeth. The imperfections notwithstanding, every week, he had a different girl under his arm. (During the soiree, he actually had one on each.) And he never missed an opportunity to brag about his_ chicas_ to everyone in the free-speaking world. Hello, Mr. Name-drop.

Crabbe and Goyle suspected that he had been using love potion to lure unwilling preys. He always had this pine-fresh scent to him that was quite like smelled like a love potion they studied in Potions. Draco, on the other hand, has an uncharacteristically fair stand on this. He decided that there are just guys who have animal magnetism. And this boy, whose two front teeth were an inch apart, was blessed with this uncanny gift.

For the aforementioned reasons, Draco, now at a crucial juncture in his life, considered Flint for advice.

"Flint!"

"All right there Malfoy," a tall, brown boy in his year approached him.

_No point beating around the bush_. "I want to ask you something."

"Yes?"

"What's a good place in Hogsmeade…" he asked oh-so-casually, his voice trailing off as Flint's thin lips curled up in interest, catching up quickly.

"You've a date, eh? With who?" Flint asked, rubbing his palms together.

"Cho Chang. And I'm seriou—STOP LOOKING AT ME LIKE THAT." He bellowed frustrated as Flint's wide mouth stretched into a toothy grin.

"Draco Malfoy needs help with a girl. Your fans won't be too impressed," Flint smirked as he flopped down the seat opposite him, looking determined to cause him the discomfort he so rarely received.

"Go on, have a laugh," Draco sighed resignedly, staring grimly into the crackling fire. Why he enlisted Flint's help is just beyond him now.

"Well, girls like gifts," Flint began.

"Don't we all," Draco replied boredly.

"Well," Flint said and went into deep thought, rubbing the stubble on his chin with his index and thumb. "Ah, details and gestures."

Draco eyed him cluelessly.

"Has she ever mentioned a place she'd like to go to, something she'd wanted to buy… stuff like that? Because girls like receiving unique gifts, something to show off to their friends, you know. I got Lisa this jelly-slug bouquet once because she likes jelly slugs."

Draco cackled evilly, never having heard of something as stupid as a jelly-slug bouquet. "Oh yeah, anybody would want to show that off. Very classy, that."

_Honeydukes seriously needs to come up with better merchandise_, he thought. _And Flint needs new moves. Then again..._

"Laugh all you want mate, but the week after was the best week in my entire life, let me tell you that," Flint said, smacking his lips and laughing afterwards.

"Right. Don't go into detail. Carry on," Draco said, making a gesture with his hand, as he watched Flint looking positively animated like this conversation was the best thing that happened to him all day.

"It helps to be a bit mushy, you know, romantic sometimes, though I'm not quite sure you're fine with that."

"I pride myself in not having the least bit of that sensitivity rubbish in my system, thanks," Draco said matter-of-factly. "But you did not answer my question."

"What was it again?"

"A good place, a restaurant maybe?" But before Flint could answer, he interjected. "Don't even suggest that Puddifoot's place or I'll hex you."

Flint laughed, "I saw Potter and Chang last year because I was there with Pa—oh never mind. They were bloody uncomfortable let me tell you that."

It was not like Flint made an effort to mask his blubber. _Yes, the git was there with Pansy last year, because Draco did not want-scratch that-SIMPLY REFUSED to be seen there. And Pansy, the little slut, jumped at the first available boy she saw. _

After having discovered that the Chosen One took Cho in Madam Puddifoot's last year, Draco decided the flaming tea shop was just simply off-limits forever. He was not particularly keen on following Potter's footsteps. Look where it got him to?

"Three Broomsticks," Flint offered quickly, killing the unripe silence.

"That place is swarming with Gryffindors!" Draco said disgustedly.

"Hog's Head?"

"I'm taking a girl, a perfectly decent girl out Flint. Not planning a night out with the hard knocks and hooligans," he made a mental roll of his eyes as he stared at Flint disbelievingly.

"Alright," Flint held his hands up in surrender. "If you're gunning for sophistication, well, Hogsmeade is definitely not your best bet."

Draco was getting more depressed now.

"Still can't believe you're asking me these questions, you know. I mean, you got all the ladies fooled, mate. I was making out with Nadia the in the second floor lavatories the other day, when a mad group of third years rushed inside to talk about how suave you looked during Quidditch practice."

_That was the third girl he name dropped in this entire conversation, the gap-toothed bastard_, Draco thought sourly.

Before Draco could retort at his meaningful statement, Flint stood up and stretched his arms wide, "Well, I've done my good deed of the day so I'm heading off. Olivia's waiting in my bed."

_Fourth girl._

"This is so big of you, thanks," Draco replied sarcastically, giving him a lazy smile as Flint cracked his neck and rotated his arms like a windmill as though preparing his body for upcoming strenuous activity.

_Bloody show off,_ he thought bitterly as he stared blankly into the fireplace for the umpteenth time that night. Then suddenly, a thought struck him. The holidays meant the Floo network was temporarily open. This also meant Hogsmeade was not the only place accessible to them. All he needs now is Floo powder and a little imagination.

_-171717-_

With the plan all set, Draco awoke next morning feeling a mixture of anxiety and excitement. He felt rather shameful about his recent disposition of smiling moronically to himself when he was left to his Cho-centered thoughts.

He dressed particularly carefully that morning. He decided upon a pair of casual black trousers and a dark green sweater underneath a black tailor-made coat. As always, the classic ensemble spelled downright s-e-x-y on him, as far as girls' opinions were concerned. He went in front of the full-length mirror, a blob of styling product on his palm, when he realized that he had grown his hair too long over the months. Acting on impulse, he whipped out his wand, pointed it at his blonde locks, muttered a spell he learned from his family's hairdresser, and watched patiently as a glowing flash of red gradually enveloped his scalp and reduced his wispy blonde locks to a length he much preferred.

His hair was shorter now. In fact, he had never had his hair this short, when he thought about it. But he liked it all the same. Something new for the Holidays, he shrugged. He blobbed another globule of product and shampooed it freely on his blonde mane, pulling the front part slightly angled upward so it did not fall over his face. He spiked some on the right, some on the left… He studied his new look on the mirror, realizing with slight fear that the new do and the hair mousse had culminated into a look that said: pretty boy.

But the mirror was the verdict. "Honey, that's gorgeous," it called out.

"Thanks," he smirked, as he knew now that his hunches were right. One, the mirror was gay. And two, he looked gorgeous, as per usual.

As he walked inside the Great Hall, a lot of girls (well, more than the usual) observed him in curiosity, all bearing the same dreamy grin. He placed his hands inside his coat pockets, strutting inside with a slight smirk on his lips that were reminiscent of ramp models doing the catwalk. For him, the ogling and the grins were the stamp of approval on his new look.

He took his usual spot on the table and positioned his feet up on the bench when he overheard a couple of underclassmen talking about an interesting development.

"The mistletoes are charmed to pick a person at random and it stays there until someone kisses you," the blonde one said.

"What if no one kisses me?" the brunette lamented.

"Don't be stupid, Hannah, you've a boyfriend. I'm worried about me."

"Well what happens if you don't get kissed," she asked with a tone of fear in her voice.

"Somebody said the mistletoes are spiked with this engorgement charm. It's meant to grow larger and larger gradually until the mistletoes become so huge and noticeable that someone just has to kiss you," explained the redhead laughing.

He looked up and true enough, a couple of glistening mistletoes were dancing below the enchanted Great Hall ceiling, giving off red and gold sparks as they hovered overhead.

On the head table, a rather large, shiny mistletoe was hanging above the exceptionally grim-looking Prof. Snape. On the corner of his eye, he saw a foul-tempered Gryffindor girl, trying to swat the charmed plant hanging above her head, but to no avail. There was another boy who was trying to outrun the mistletoe. Again, to no avail.

The idea of it, Draco thought, was hilarious. It was quite like having a placard above your head that said: KISS ME, progressing to KISS ME OR ELSE, and later on: KISS ME AND GET A GALLEON. He imagined the embarrassment of having to walk around with the ginormous leaves sitting on top of your head.

Crabbe came slumping into the bench opposite him, his face screwed up in disgust.

"What's up your arse? It's Christmas eve for fuck's sake," Draco said.

"I got stuck under one of them blasted plant things and Millicent Bulstrode took it as an opportunity to shove her tongue down my throat."

"And you let her?"

"Had no choice, mate. The bloody mistletoe was getting the size of a quaffle. I had it since I woke up," Crabbe explained, sighing heavily into his juice. "Good there's bacon." He said, forking a couple of strips and shoving them into his mouth.

Draco hated the alarming rate of disgusting mental images he had of his friends. First, Goyle with Guillia. Now, Crabbe and Bullstrode came into the picture. He literally shook his head off the residual thoughts and took a sip of his coffee.

The morning owls came, swooping down with more parcels than usual. Draco picked up a rolled copy of the daily prophet and scanned the front page. _Nothing important._

"Want me to plant one on you, Malfoy?" a voice that was strangely familiar sniggered from behind him.

He looked over his shoulder and saw Potty and Weasel grinning at something so funny above his head. And even without looking, he knew that there was a nice little mistletoe that had conveniently stuck itself above him.

"Wish you had one though, huh Weasel? Because unlike some, I don't need a bloody plant just to get some action," he scowled, folding up the newspaper and preparing to stand up. He loomed over the two, so he was pretty much confident.

"Shove off, Malfoy," Potter said, tugging his red-faced redhead friend away by the collar of his robes.

_You'd think those two were gay if you'd seen them touching each other,_ he said as he watched them walk off. _Now back to the problem at hand._

The prospect of the mistletoes did not sound too hilarious now that he had one hanging about his head. He slumped back down and sighed heavily into his plate, blowing some of the bread crumbs across the table.

"I wouldn't mind planting one on you," Pansy, who was sitting just a couple of seats away, called out, licking her lips seductively.

"No, no," Draco said simply, shaking his head.

"You'd might want to get rid of it though," Crabbe warned, momentarily looking up from his plate. "One of the mistletoes exploded on some Hufflepuff's face."

_Shit._ "So are you going to the Manor?" Draco asked, trying to keep his mind off the flaming mistletoe. _Maybe it'd go away._

"Yeah, I am. Wouldn't want to miss the death eater convention," Crabbe replied with thick sarcasm. "Always the highlight of the yuletide season."

"Too true," Draco replied, suppressing a smirk. And suddenly, he was distracted by a giggling gang of five or so girls by the Hall entrance, a single mistletoe hobbling about with them. Among the band of girls, he saw Cho, looking so lovely clad in a mint green blouse, faded denim jeans, and tan mid-calf boots with a long white overcoat. Her hair was pulled up in a high pony-tail with a few soft tendrils framing her oval face.

_Perfect. She's just perfect. _

And he was going to spend a day with this goddess. Things are definitely looking up.

Before he knew it, she was sauntering over to his table, with a bright smile that complimented the pink flush on her cheeks.

"Twinsies," she said, noting the similar mistletoes hanging above their heads.

"This mistletoe business is rather cute," she looked up on the glistening plant over her head and smiled at him. She sat down beside him, ignoring the daggers than some of the girls sent toward her general direction. "I like what you did to your hair," she said, running her fingers on some of the strands. "Very modern, you look like one of those Muggle celebrities."

Draco watched amused as she kept babbling and talking and making conversation, all the while aware that the mistletoe above his head was growing bigger and bigger, when he just decided to throw everything on the air (figuratively, of course), raised an eyebrow to silence her, and with a sly smile, asked, "Are you going to kiss me or what?"

-171717-

_I really didn't know how to end this chapter, but I think I did alright. Just a little transition piece before the big date. Hope you guys enjoyed it. Let me know what you think._

_P.S. I do hope I get as many reviews. I don't want the number to go down, to be honest. –hint, hint- :)_

_P.P.S. I'm going to be away from Friday to Wednesday, so I don't know when I'm going to upload the next chapter. I haven't even started working on it and I don't know if I actually have time to work on it during those days. Please bear with me and I'll try to put it up as soon as I can. Lots of love to all you wonderful, wonderful people._


	18. Ch 18: Mistletoes and tornados

**Chapter 18: Mistletoes and Tornados**

**Disclaimer: **JKR owns HP.

**A/N: **Again, a huge thanks to all the readers. I just came from a retreat and I must say I feel… well, the same I felt last week, only happier because now I have a new chapter up:) I've been out of town for the past week. And my inernet connection is jacked up so I couldn't get this up sooner. Sorry to keep you lot waiting. SORRY. I'll be out next week too (you know, post-college partying, etc. etc.) but I'll try not to take another 15+ days.

Earendil-DMCC – Glad you liked the transition. The anticipated first date is next. Yay to more kissing!

Chele – Those were really nice compliments, thanks you so much. You gave me a long review this time, so yay! I always appreciate great feedback. Thanks also for adding OotB to your faves. I am so glad. More Draco and Cho smooching soon. :)

m0ody – Draco is always hot, m'dear. Always.

corny's idol – The idea of the homo mirror was very random. Lol. I was hesitant about how I left things, but I'm glad you liked the last bit. Thanks.

Cho-Wood – Well, here it is… Thanks:) Sorry for the long wait.

.AwwLuktheSkyIsCryin. – You're fabalishful too! I just love that adjective. Your reviews make me smile.

Serena Goodkey – lol. That's true. She wants to. Hope you like Draco's new do.

Elektra05 – I'm so sorry if this took long. You were first again to review! Wonderful! Thanks (x eternity)

_R&R luvs._

-181818-

"Are you going to kiss me or what?" He coaxed with a playful smile.

Her cheeks flushed a deeper pink as her eyes curved into little rainbows when she grinned. The slight inclination of her head was his cue to move in.

His lips grazed hers in slow, subtle movements. Draco moved his hand up to the back of her head, stroking the soft hairs on the nape of her neck. Their mouths moved lazily, but steadily, in the morning. Their tastes—his of pancake syrup and hers of mint toothpaste—mixed and mingled in a sweet cocktail that was only theirs to share. Soon enough, the mistletoes were released from magical imprisonment, setting off for the ceiling with red and gold glitter dusts on its trail.

He pulled away abruptly to catch the sight of Cho's rapt expression—her mouth still puckered and her eyes still closed. But her brown eyes fluttered open momentarily, staring back at his gray.

"That look on your face," he smiled flirtatiously, pinching her chin delicately.

She pouted, flushing, "I looked constipated, didn't I?"

"No," he said, laughing. "Sexy." _Arousing, even._

"Sexy constipated?" she asked.

"Yeah, yeah," he said, laughing more now. "Sexy constipated." _Whatever that meant._

She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, "So I'll meet you in the Entrance Hall, later?"

"No, let's meet in your room instead," he insisted. "After lunch?"

"Right. 1-ish, ok? Later…" she said with a smile as she slid out of her seat and walked toward her friends in their house table.

-181818-

"I thought we're going to Hogsmeade," Cho asked.

"Well everybody's going there," he replied simply, taking out from his pocket the container of Floo powder he had stolen from Prof. Snape's office after breakfast. "Do you seriously want to go to Madam Puddifoot's?"

"HEY! I happen to like Madam Puddifoot's," she retorted, growing red around the ears.

Draco did not make any further comment. He knew he'd just spark an argument and it was too early into the date for it to fall apart because of his remarks.

"Anyway," he said, lifting his leg up on the coffee table. "You may want to wear purple."

"Don't be thick, Draco. I didn't spend half an hour deciding on this top for nothing," She replied airily, taking slight offense form his comment. She flopped down the couch beside him.

"Hang on, allow me to rephrase that," he said, touching her arm slightly, speaking firmer now. "Wear purple."

"Why?"

"I like purple," he said in a saintly voice. _Never mind how gay that sounded. _

"No you don't."

"And you look good in purple," he floundered, never realizing how girls were so bloody sensitive to criticisms regarding their physical appearance.

"Don't I look good in green?" She asked hopefully, raising a threatening eyebrow.

"Well you do, just… just wear something purple, c'mon…" Draco stood up and pulled her towards her room.

"Well you're not in purple."

"I don't own anything purple. But I'm sure you do."

"You just want to watch me change, don't you?" She teased.

"You ask too many questions," he said laughingly, stopping at the door. "I'll stay out if you want. Just, please? PURPLE."

"Are you going to bring me to some cult or some ritual animal slaughter and offer me as sacrifice to the gods?" She narrowed her eyes on him.

"Look, it's not the crisis situation you're thinking. You'll thank me later."

"And I thought _I_ was high maintenance," she said, raising her arms in surrender as she entered her room. But she left her door open, so Draco decided to hang around by the doorway, waggling his brows at her as she lifted her shirt up. _Angels sent from above._

Completely ignoring his suggestive looks, Cho slipped into a violet flutter-sleeve top that stopped mid-thigh and studied her reflection in the mirror. She slid off her tan boots and wore a black pair instead.

"Is this better now?" she asked, twirling in her spot for him.

"Superb." He nodded, licking his lips suggestively.

"Oh quit flirting with me, Draco," Cho remarked as she went past him and into the front room, her lips curling into a suppressed grin.

"That's more violet than purple, though," he pointed out, surveying her new look. Of course, the "proper" hue did not really, he was just teasing.

"Well, sorry if I don't have the exact shade to suit your fancy," she rolled her eyes. "What is the bloody fuss anyway?"

"You'll find out soon," Draco said cryptically.

"Good thing we have a high fireplace," Cho surveyed the high white stone fireplace, muttering a spell to clean up the soot inside.

He nodded as she took the Floo powder container and opened the lid. "Where are we going?"

Draco gestured for her to enter the fireplace. She did, grabbing an ample amount of floo from the container. He crossed his fingers, hoping she'd be as gob-smacked as he'd imagined when he tells her about his surprise. "Tornado Stadium, Tutshill."

After that, she shouted a series of incoherent phrases at him as she jumped out of the fireplace, threw the floo powder in the air, and leapt into him, straddling his waist, all the while screaming deafeningly in manner of a banshee.

"Are we really?" she asked, short of breath, placing her hands on his face.

Draco grasped her tighter, linking his arms behind her for support. "Well, you told me you've always wanted to watch the game live, so I got us tickets for the Tornados-Harpies game."

"OHMIGODOHMIGODMHMIGOD," Her arms crushed him again and she straddled him even tighter, so tight now that he suspected that a few more minutes of this and he'd lose all feeling in his lower torso. Nonetheless, he was pleased with her reaction.

And amid the flurry of excitement and surprise of the whole situation, she exclaimed, "I love you!" burying her face against his shoulder and hugging him even tighter if that was remotely possible.

It was something random, perhaps blurted out because of the thrill of it all, but he found hearing those words to his liking.

-181818-

A couple of kisses, hugs, and a glass of water later, they had finally prepared to set off for the Stadium. Cho went into the fireplace first. As the familiar green flames enveloped her into nothingness, Draco entered the fireplace, eager to join Cho once more. He scattered the grayish powder and declared his destination to the roars of the fire.

He landed flat on his feet on a wide red brick fireplace inside a tiny, beige room. Cho was grinning broadly, standing at the balls of her feet as she waited for him to finish dusting off his coat.

They were in a small, waiting room beside the VIP area, where people could use to floo to and from the Stadium. If he was not mistaken, this room was situated midway into the bleachers. He had been there several times, being a big fan of the Tornados growing up and having watched several games with his father.

As they went outside, arm in arm, a wave of excited murmurs and random cheers met their ears. The air was thick with excitement as Tutshill Tornados and Holyhead Harpies fans alike brandished their merchandise in the air, all very determined to outshine the opposing fans with their sparkly banners, big-ass hats, and choreographed cheers. But the Tutshill fans, being in their home court, was in advantage with regard to number and flashiness. Some went to the extent of painting their faces purple aside from sporting purple shirts. And this was just an elimination round match. Who knows what people plan to do in the semis or, more importantly, the finals?

"Oh my goodness, this is sooooo exciting," Cho gripped Draco's arm tightly with her gloved hands as their senses took in the _fiesta_.

Draco placed a hand on top of hers, looking down at her radiant face. "I'm glad."

With the assistance of a stadium representative, they had found their seats. He much rather prefered the VIP box (naturally), but he booked the tickets in the 11th hour and was lucky enough to secure prime seats. When you're a Malfoy, people are so scared of you that they know better than to treat your poorly. Draco found this idea very comforting. And truly convenient at times like this.

"The Harpies are so going down," Cho cheered madly, wildly, almost psychotically. She was a completely different girl. The look on her face. That look of sheer joy was priceless. He knew this was the image that will float into his mind during particularly glum days.

"Glad you're wearing purple now?"

"YES!" she exclaimed. "I wouldn't be caught dead wearing that green shirt in this place."

Shortly, the pair eased into the sea of purple, one with the crowd in raising their fists up in the air as the announcer signalled the start of the game and the Quidditch superstars flew inside the pitch to the hoarse, deafening screams of the frenzied homecrowd.

-181818-

The game was long (it dragged on for a couple of hours) and the two found ways to make the event even more exciting than it already was. They played 'who could spot the golden Snitch faster.' Cho won. They bought two buckets of cheese popcorn, downing it in the quickest possible time. Draco won by a slim margin. Needless to say, he cheated. If only Cho saw the litter of popcorn under his seat. He never really liked the cheesy type; he was a caramel popcorn kind of guy.

When the Tushill seeker finally caught the golden ball, the match ended in favor of the Tornados, 350-200. Cho and Draco looked up, thanked their lucky stars for their good fortune, and enveloped each other in a celebratory hug. It was, after all, an important victory for their team, because the Tornados just earned a semifinals berth.

"If I haven't told you before, this was bloody brilliant, Draco. Thank you so much," she said happily as they walked hand in hand back to the office. It was, in fact, the fourth time she said it that day.

"Not a problem," he replied, squeezing her hand in his.

"But I must say," she began, her voice dropping to a tone that made Draco's stomach lurch. "This is awfully extravagant for a _non-exclusive_ date." Her lips curled into something less of a smile, but was not a smirk either.

He was uncertain what effect she had hoped to achieve with that comment, (_damn that girl!_) but he shrugged it off rather than be pissed off. "Well, I treat my women well," he said with a wink and pulled her by the waist closer to him. She cozied up to him without complaint.

"Better savor the moment, love, because I don't know if I can still pencil you in my date book," he said with a sneer. She tutted. _Two can play that game._

They reached the Floo room again, waiting in a queue of about four or so people.

"So where are we off to now?" She asked.

"It's 4:30," Draco said, looking up at the rectangular clock on the far side of the room. "I suppose we could…"

"I have an idea," she piped up with what looked like a malicious glint in her eyes. She looked terribly cute, the mischievous shedevil.

"Does it involve the words Madam and Puddifoot's?" Draco asked hesitantly.

"No, we're not going there," she shook her head as she pulled them both into the spacious fireplace.

Still iffy about not being in control of the date, Draco took out the floo container and offered it to Cho. She grabbed a handful, linked her arms to his, and declared their destination in a clear voice, "Hogwarts."

-181818-

_I hope you all like how the date's progressing. Part two coming soon. Press the GO button, please. Lots of love to y'all.. :)_


	19. Ch 19: Game's on, Chang

**Chapter 19: Game's on, Chang**

**A/N**: HEY guys! This is a short chapter, written just to wrap up the date and establish some parameters in Draco and Cho's relationship. Thank you to all my loyal readers and reviewers. Shout out to Crystalline-tears who added the story in her alerts. :)

.AwwLuktheSkyIsCryin. – Well, the pants is sort of on rotation. Draco shows some muscle in this one. Lol. 

Elektra05 – Oh man, me too! I'm such a huge sports nut. Some guy (this is euphemism for ex-boyfriend. Lol.) took me to a basketball game once and it remains, to this day, one of the best dates I have ever had.

Earendil-DMCC – Thanks so much. I am so glad that the chapter did not disappoint. Yeah, I'm thinking about a Quidditch rematch, just for kicks. Who do you think should win this time though?

Cho-Wood – Thank you so much for the support. :)

Serena Goodkey – Thanks! Hope you enjoy this one too.

corny's idol – That was the original plan, actually. But I didn't have the Hogwarts part of the date written then and I wanted so desperately to upload a chapter. Hope you enjoyed anyway. :)

_R&R luvs._

-191919-

After all the hype and merriment from the quidditch match, Draco and Cho were both in the mood for some quiet. A subdued, romantic spot that always presented itself was an area by the erstwhile opalescent waters of the now icy lake.

The Hogwarts grounds were a blanket of white, patterned with occasional dips from people's footsteps. Soft shards of snow were slowly falling on the ground, replenishing the thinning areas of the icy path. As they walked, gloved hands linked to each other, the snow made scrunching noises underneath their boots, the perfect texture to pack for snowballs, Draco thought.

Taking his wand out, he muttered a spell to rid a circular area of snow. Moments after, the two were tucked into a spot of dried grass underneath a familiar tree with a view of the sparkly lake, the snow-covered stone ruins, and the quidditch pitch from afar.

Draco leaned his back against the sturdy bark of the tree, with Cho resting her back on his knees. They spoke of anything and everything that crossed their minds—her fondness for jasmines, his black-and-green wardrobe, her love for bunnies, and his hair obsession. If anything, this was a first. A conversational milestone in their relationship.

All in all, it was a relaxing, completely comfortable moment as they nested in each others arms, a young couple enjoying fleeting, wonderful moments of youth.

The last couple of minutes were filled with easy, light-hearted babbles, void of any uncomfortable interrogation, until Cho asked him something he never thought he would hear.

"How many girlfriends have you had?" she asked out of the blue. _One minute they were talking about baking, now this_?

He looked at her questioningly, retrieving his arm tentatively from around her tummy. "Ermm… why do you ask?" _Stalling._

"Just curious…" she said in an oh-so casual, almost sing-song voice, hugging her knees to her chest.

"I see you're doing your background investigation," he said with a tight-lipped smile.

"You could say that," she said laughingly, locking eyes with him meaningfully for a second, then turning away to gaze at something in the distance.

"Well, I don't really know the mechanics of the whole relationship thing. I went out with a couple of girls here and there, though I'm really not sure if you'd consider them girlfriends or whatnot." _Oh fuck, I sounded like a complete man whore._

"I heard you went out with Padma's sister."

"No." he replied seriously. He did not fancy the Patil twins, period. They were not the brand of Asian he liked.

"Who did you go out with then?" she pressed further, obviously making sure that Draco would not segway into another, much safer topic of discussion.

"Why are you asking me all these questions?" _Stalling, again._

"I want to know," she did not look at him, but judging by the tone of her voice, he figured she was dead serious. And dead determined to pry for information.

From the start, he knew the question was a ticking time bomb waiting to explode. If he refused to dignify it with a response, she'd think he did not want to be honest with her. Omission is, after all, betrayal. On the distaff side, if he chose to be completely honest, she, like most girls, would most probably go in a jealous fit or decide not to talk to him for the next couple of minutes.

But he decided to give in. "There's Pansy Parkinson, ermm… Patrice Greene, Kaitlin i-forgot-her-surname, and then, Lavender Brown, yeah... but those were ancient history," he said dismissively. "Anyway…"

"Did you have sex with all of them?" Again, the tone of her voice was frighteningly casual.

"No comment."

"You did," she decided.

"Well, how about you? Who did you sleep with, you dirty bitch?" he asked with a playful nudge.

"A lady never kisses and tells," she replied with a sneer.

"Rubbish."

She too decided to give in, after much prodding. "There's Harry and this certain boy called Draco Malfoy."

Potter in her 'list' did not come as a surprise. "Potter, that wanker? I suppose he was lousy in bed, but enough about that pouf. Tell me about this Draco character…"

She laughed, playing along. "Well, he's from Slytherin. He's a year younger than me. I've always known him because I play him in Quidditch. He's not very good, though."

"Oy!"

"What can I say? I beat his arse every damn time," she shrugged.

"One day, woman, I will exact revenge."

"Alright, alright," she said, rolling her eyes. "But I haven't finished telling you about this guy I'm seeing, yeah?"

"Carry on then," he grinned, making a motion with his hand. "Tell me more about this demi god."

"Well," Cho continued, moving closer to his face. "He has the nicest gray eyes, softest, blonde hair," she ran a gloved hand along his fresh tresses. "And he's a right, fantastic kisser…"

"Is he really?" His lips curled to the sides as she moved closer and closer, erasing the distance between their faces.

Her reply came in a breathy whisper, 'mmhhmm,' and she pressed her cool lips on his tentatively. Her tender lips felt so wonderful against his, a feeling that warmed him up instantly from top to toe.

The butterfly kisses progressed into something more fervent, impassionate, wanton. He tilted his head to the side, parting his mouth wider to welcome the intrusion. Their tongue engaged in playful swordplay, their mouths working almost desperately against each other. He brought his hand up to the back of her head, tugging the barrette that held her hair in a tight pony tail. Her raven mane fell like a dark curtain flowing over her shoulders and he ran his fingers eagerly through her silky hair.

Her hands were going for the clasp of his robes and Draco would have readily shrugged the offending garment off his body if not for the sudden gush of freezing winter winds reminding him to keep his clothes on.

"Draco…" she mumbled, sounding like a plea, somewhat, against his mouth. Her breathy voice sent shivers down his spine. She pulled away and Draco found himself staring at her rosy, plump lips.

"Do you…" she began.

He knew what she meant by this and he had prepared to tackle this situation.

If there was something Draco was trained to be good at, it was control. Masking emotions was the name of his game. He never let his guard down, even if something was stirring his emotions. So despite the fact that he was so… (well there are no other words to put it) fucking horny, despite the fact that he so urgently wanted to touch her that it hurt, despite the fact that his growing erection was practically clouding his better judgment…

He was still playing this game, this game that _she _crafted. So no one could not blame him really if decided to pull some tricks up his sleeve.

"Well…" he tilted his head invitingly towards her, pushing a chunk of hair away from her face and planting a soft kiss on the side of her mouth. "That depends. Are we exclusive yet?"

This definitely caught her off-guard. Her lips parted slightly, involuntarily spelling out her surprise. Quickly recovering, she smirked and shook her head.

_GAH!_

"I didn't think so, too," Draco sneered, his voice icy and indifferent.

"Well, I suppose there's always the option of mature, adult, conversation," she shrugged, attempting a poker face but failing miserably.

"Actually, I have to go pack my things," he told her, getting up from his sitting position. "Are you coming inside?"

"No, I think I'll stay here for a bit," she replied.

"Alright, I'm going then," he jerked a thumb behind him.

"Will I see you at dinner?" she called out keenly, just when he turned on his heel.

He fought the smile that had spread across his face. "Yeah, I'll be there."

"Ok," she replied, sounding more aloof now like she couldn't care less.

As he trudged the snow-laden path back up the castle, ignoring that annoying bulge between his legs, he could feel her eyes boring into his back. He just knew that she was watching him.

"Oh by the way," he stopped at his tracks and looked at her over his shoulder dramatically. "Game's on, Chang."

She nodded with a kittenish grin, "Make no mistake about it, Malfoy."

-191919-

_GO! Review:) Lots of love…_

_Reference: This chapter is very much inspired by Brucas in One Tree Hill. I'm more into Peyton-Lucas, mind. Anyway…_

_P.S. The end is nigh._


	20. Ch 20: Meet Su Li

**Ch 20: Correspondence**

A/N: I'm alive! Glad to know y'all are still there. :) I know the updates are getting later and LATER and I really am sorry. Bear with me, please. If my plans materialize, I will be moving to another country soon. (Anyone from Naperville, IL here?)

On a general note, I'm glad you all like the hot-cold, extremes-type relationship of Cho and Draco, although some of you were quite confused by it. Worry not, Cho gets her wake-up call in this chapter. She has been such a mad, mad biatch for so long. And I'm going to be switching POV in the latter part.

Thank you to all the wonderful reviews I received. I appreciate the time you put in writing feedback so I can improve this story. Lots of love to you lot.

Again, I sincerely apologize for taking so long. Please don't hate me. And I do hope you read til the end, because I WILL finish this no matter what. :) That's a promise.

_R&R luvs._

-202020-

Over the holidays, owls from the Malfoy Manor and the Chang's residence continuously flew back and forth, toting letters containing random 'hellos' and 'how are yous' and occasionally, 'i miss yous' and 'can't wait to be with yous'. Sometimes, at certain times when both were quite lonely and bored, the messages turned rather naughty—--the kind that would disgust or infuriate their parents if intercepted.

It would be safe to conclude then that there was already a certain degree of trust, care, and attachment that one had for the other. If the constant correspondence was any indication, their relationship (if it could be called that) was slowly and steadily growing into something more precious.

When December rolled into January, the erstwhile straight path the two trudged morphed into another complex maze, much like the labyrinth in the third task of the Triwizard tournament. It all started when a possibly insane Cho started getting strange ideas.

-202020-

Technically, there really was not an A-Z list of rules to follow in Cho and Draco's "non-exclusivity" game. The premise was quite easy to digest. Basically, Cho and Draco can see each other, but see other people as well, whether they choose to or not.

For any other straight male that setup was a glorious idea. One would think that a man like Draco would be one to enjoy this. He gets to date the girl he likes and still play the field if or when he gets bored. But, with all honesty, he has been struggling. For once in his god-forsaken existence, he would like to be monogamous (cherubs in heaven, this is true!), but the circumstances are preventing him.

For instance, one nice January morning, as the couple was walking hand-in-hand along the Entrance Hall on their way to breakfast, both still quite lightheaded from lack of sleep as they spent a rather late night talking in Cho's dorm, Cho pointed to a noticeable raven-haired Oriental girl in Draco's year.

"Su Li," Draco supplied when Cho tried to remember who she was. Su was a Ravenclaw. And Chinese. And has hair like the blackest of night.

"Yeah, Su," Cho nodded. "What do you think of her?"

"I don't know. We're not really in the same social circle."

"Well, don't you like her?" Cho asked.

"What?"

"I mean, we sort of look alike, right? And we're both in Ravenclaw, so the similarities are uncanny, really."

"No," Draco replied, furrowing his brows. In his mind though, he knew Cho and Su had a striking resemblance. Cho was just more freckly and had longer, straighter hair. Su's hair stopped at her shoulders, curving outwards, and she always wore headbands and things as far as Draco can remember.

"Oh don't be foolish, Draco. You know what I'm talking about," Cho sneered.

He glanced sideways at her and shook his head helplessly. "I don't like her."

"Why not? We're practically twins," she shrugged, letting out a mirthless giggle.

"I do--,"

"Look Draco," Cho stopped at her tracks as they reached the entrance of the Great Hall, facing him with a stern expression. "I've been thinking about this and I don't think you really understand what I meant with the whole non-exclusive setup."

"Actually, I do," Draco replied, crossing his arms on his chest. "I just do—"

"Excellent," Cho said with a cheery smile. "Then work with me here." With that she left him standing alone on the entrance, contemplating why the erstwhile decent conversation on pancakes suddenly careened off-course. He chanced a look on the Ravenclaw table and spotted Su Li, giving him a once over then giggling to her friends. Cho, meanwhile, was sitting with Padma and, lo and behold, Terence.

_How the fuck did that arse get in there so swiftly?_

Regardless, he knew what he had to do. He popped his collar, ran a hand through his blonde tresses, and walked toward an unsuspecting girl with an attractive grin playing across his lips.

"How are you girls this morning?" he asked in a suave tone, instantly regretting acting with such machismo.

"Hi, Draco," Su replied kittenishly. It sounded almost practised.

"Su," he said. "Care to sit with me at dinner tonight?"

Su looked shocked and worried but pleasantly surprised at the same time. Blushing furiously, she casually looked over Cho who was just a few seats from her and was definitely within earshot.

"Aren't you dating Cho Chang?" Su asked tentatively, her voice dropping to almost a whisper.

"Not exclusively," he replied a little louder than necessary and flashed Su his signature smirk.

"Then, that's a yes," Su smiled back, showing her perfect set of pearly whites.

"See you in class," Draco said non-chalantly as though he didn't just ask her on a pseudo-date and slipped out of the bench. He knew he should feel quite pleased with himself for finishing Cho's dare, but the feeling didn't seem right. He left the Great Hall and spent a moment alone in his room.

-202020-

Dinner was short of gratifying. Draco never expected the Su was quite an annoying bitch, really. She had the highest voice Draco has ever heard. And she spoke fluff like there was no tomorrow. Sure Draco liked getting compliments. But he didn't like hearing it every other minute.

"I love your hair," Su purred attractively for the umpteenth time in one sitting, running her fingers through Draco's hair. He fought the urge to swat her hand away (nobody touches the hair, well, save for Cho, who gets away with it occasionally), but Cho was watching so he had to pretend like he was enjoying the moment.

"I know, love." He replied with a quick smile, looking remorsefully at the corn and carrots on his plate afterwards.

_Half-way done_, he thought. _Just a couple more minutes and I'm out of here._

If Cho did not egg him to do this, he really would rather lock himself up in his four-poster and starve. Or probably, do his homework and Goyle's too, while he's at it. Anything would be better, quite honestly.

For a few more days, it went on. People started noticing that Draco and Su were getting closer just as Terence started warming up to Cho. Merlin knew how desperate Draco had been, feeling like his insides were writhing in pain everytime he had to sit by Su and her mates. It just was not fun hanging out with them for they were stereotypes of girls who only cared about girly stuff, cosmetics, and teen magazines. They whipped out their powder compacts every five minutes to do touch-ups. He tried engaging Su in a conversation that interested him, one about Quidditch, but Su stared at him like he was speaking in tongues. The girl was positively gormless. Who knew why she was sorted to the "smart" house if she didn't at least have street smarts?

When it started to become a competition of sorts during meal times, Draco simply sucked it all in. Everytime he saw Terence and Cho laughing, he made sure that he did something to top that like whisper some cheesy rubbish in Su's ear so she'd giggle, or other really underhanded tactics.

As Draco started spending time with Su, he noticed several things that made her and Cho miles apart, despite their similar physique. Cho spoke with a scottish twang, while Su had a thick Asian inflection. Cho almost always wore her hair straight; Su liked curling the ends. But for Draco, the most distinct difference they had was their scent. Whenever Draco smelled the strange, spicy perfume that Su wore, he longed for Cho's sweet jasmine scent.

-202020-

While Draco was patrolling the corridors during his Friday shift, he spotted q contemplative Cho just rounding the corner.

"Hey head girl," he leaned sideways on the wall and flashed her a grin.

Her eyes widened momentarily, but she was quick to cover up her surprise. "What?" she narrowed her eyes on him. There was danger in her voice.

"All right?" he asked with caution, approaching her tentatively.

"Not particularly."

"I'll walk with you," he insisted, cupping her elbow with his hand.

"No, thanks," she pulled her arm away, her voice dripping with disdain.

"Oh god," Draco wiped the sweat on his forehead with the hand that Cho shrugged off. "If this is about Su Li, well, it's what you wanted anyway. I only did what you wanted me to do." He said defensively, his voice echoing across the empty corridors.

Cho turned around to face him with a sparkle in her watery eyes. "Yes, I told you to do it. But I wanted you to tell me you didn't want to do it."

"I did try to tell you!" he bellowed furiously.

"You had a choice but you sat there flirting with Su Li in front of me and I know it made you feel good that I was jealous because I saw that little smirk of yours, Draco Malfoy."

"How the bloody fuck can I be with you if Higgs keeps hanging around you like a sick puppy every damn day?"

"I wanted you to fight for me," she said in a shaky voice, swallowing hard as more tears streamed down her face.

Draco suddenly had an unpleasant vision of him and Terence duelling in the entrance hall with Cho standing on a podium awaiting the winner. That was taking Cho's words a little too literally. Nevertheless, he simply disapproved of her argument.

"_Fight for you_?" he repeated with a smirk, staring almost unsympathetically into her watery eyes. "What, grab Higgs by the collar and drag him outside? Well, if that's your idea of romance, you are massively disillusioned."

Cho opened her mouth to protest but it seemed like she couldn't find the words to say.

Draco was on a roll. "You know, it's pretty damn obvious to me that whatever's between us is fucking wonderful and you keep pretending it's not. I'm brassed off playing games with you, Cho. It's all or nothing from this point."

He turned on his heel and walked to the staircases, calling out, "I'll be in my room if you ever decide to apologise."

-202020-

Cho walked back to her dormitory, eyes puffy from rubbing away her tears. Despite the flurry of emotions from the confrontation, it was clear to Cho that what she needed was some company to help her through. As soon as she reached her room, she owled her two bestfriends. Soon after, Padma and Marietta, both in their nighties, emerged from the doorway bearing sweets and a box of tissue.

"How are you feeling?" Marietta asked as she took off her coat and tossed it on a chair.

"Like dung."

"Have a chocolate frog," Padma chucked a box on Cho's lap. Cho opened the flip-top package and popped the chocolate in her mouth.

"So, what happened?" Marietta positioned herself beside Cho, placing the tissue on the coffee table in front of them.

Wasting no time, Cho narrated the story, not leaving out any details. The reaction of her friends were not a shock to her in truth. As hard it was to admit, she probably was at fault. And guilt was at the forefront of her embattled emotions.

"I know why you're doing this to him," Padma said in saintly voice, unwrapping a pumpkin pasty.

"Enlighten us, Madame Patil," Marietta said with a supressed laugh. Cho was glad that the two wanted to keep everything light. She wouldn't have it if they were a flustered crybaby like she was.

"We all know he has a reputation and now that he seems so keen on you, you're afraid that if you give in, he'll go back to his philandering ways."

"Agreed," Marietta said, nodding approvingly at Padma. "We didn't expect Potter to screw you over, and Malfoy, who is, you know, an obvious candidate for Mr. Hogwarts Wham-bam-thank-you-ma'am, spells DANGER in big bold letters."

"But he's been flirting with Su Li all week," Cho argued.

"Only because you told him to."

"But he could've said no."

"Well, you were flirting with Higgs as well, you do realise that. So quits?" Padma said.

"Cho, love, I hate to break it to you, but you have got to apologise to Malfoy," Marietta slapped her friend on the knee.

"Not bleeding likely," Cho crossed her arms, deciding that she was angry with him.

"We both know the answer to this, but I'm going to ask it anyway for old times' sake…"

Cho knew what was about to be asked. Don't think she hasn't thought about this. All week, all she thought about was how to get him back, really. She regretted ever suggesting that Draco should date Su Li. Truth is, she wanted them to be exclusive. But she didn't know how to approach these new feelings.

"…do you love him?"

And again, Cho's eyes welled up. "Yes." She buried her face on the arm of the sofa.

"We know, darling." Marietta said, comforting her sobbing friend. "It's going to work out in the end. It's bound to."

_Oh god, I hope so._

-202020-

_Finally, a chapter! I hope you lot enjoyed it. Again, sorry for not updating any sooner. Still v. much inspired by Brucas, evidently. Tell me what you think, yeah? _

_P.S. Squee for the World Cup! _


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